This past week Marayas Sisyphean Cart was one of the interactive artworks featured at ISEA2014 Dubai. Struggling against UAE logistics and Dubai heat, the team prevailed, completing the second phase of the work. With the help of fellow artists and curators, as well as many bystanders, Henry Tsang, M. Simon Levin, and I, (as an interested tag along) were able to see the cart make it around the entire circumference of the Dubai Marina, a desert counterpart to Vancouvers False Creek. Thanks to everyone who lent their hands, hearts, eyes and ears. Your contribution to the project and to thinking about the city has been profound. The process of walking alongside participants and getting to experience different views on city building, social practice, and media (mediation) art transformed my understanding of the project—and the spaces invoked/involved. These past few days helped me to better understand why anyone (speaking of myself here) might spend seven years walking these transitional climes, braving harsh climates and incessant questions about cultural values and location. Weve said Maraya Projects began as a wager—bet / speculation—on the possibility of linking two distant and disparate urban waterfront sites—Dubai Marina and Vancouvers False Creek. Weve talked about Maraya as reflection, and Maraya as a mirror and mirage. This past week I began to think about how Maraya might also translate to unreasonable request or crazy demands. Making it to the end of the Marina Walk, I watched Henry and Simon drag a scratched, dusty cart up a sandy hill, through a makeshift parking lot and the Friday afternoon traffic in search of our elusive transport back to the gallery. Seeing them pull together, tired and hot, I was deeply moved. The tenacity of the artists vision and collaborative work, their commitment to the project as a means of framing and rethinking urban space was as impressive as it was humbling. As Henry succinctly put it, referring to Marayas Sisyphean Cart over a celebratory drink at the end of yesterday, its a strong piece. As biased as I am, I couldnt agree more. Heres to more unreasonable demands! May our civic politics and social engagements continue to grow stronger through the creative wagers of contemporary art and artists. May the horizons of our cities bend and expand to fit the dreams of the unrecognized urban planners and architects we met along the way. Thank you. Shukran.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 11:41:19 +0000
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