421 Arts Campus is currently hosting It Starts Where It Ends, a solo exhibition by Colombian multidisciplinary artist Ana Escobar Saavedra that examines identity, memory, and materiality. In her installations and sculptural artefacts on display, the artist probes the liminal space between permanence and impermanence: the very essence of being. Her conceptual framework is based on a linguistic duality in Spanish: ser (what is inherent) versus estar (what is temporary). This philosophical tension animates the work throughout the exhibition. The show will be open to the public until 7 September 2025.
Crafted primarily from marble and granite, materials traditionally linked to historical preservation, Escobar Saavedra’s art pieces twist expectations by rendering these stones into forms that mirror the skin, bodies, and their evolving textures, scars, and colouration over time. She elevates the overlooked, imbuing a sense of preciousness while uncovering fragility within the ostensibly eternal.
Interwoven through the exhibition are bureaucratic motifs (identification documents, certificates, lockets) reimagined to question how identity is defined: is it shaped more by paperwork or lived experience? Escobar Saavedra’s work challenges linear narratives and embraces a cyclical understanding of memory and meaning.
About the artist
Ana Escobar Saavedra (born in Colombia) obtained an MA in Visual Arts from a joint programme between MASieraad Amsterdam and PXL-MAD School of Arts in Hasselt (Belgium). She lived for 16 years in Italy and France before moving to the UAE in 2020.
With her background spanning textiles and metalsmithing, Escobar Saavedra combines art and craft with emotional and material sensibility. In her practice, she often examines universal themes such as existence, migration, identity, and culture.
The artist has displayed her creations across the UAE at various venues, including Sharjah Art Museum, Foundry, Alserkal Avenue, ICD Brookfield, Tashkeel, and Bayt Al Mamzar. She has also exhibited in Colombia, Argentina, China, Australia, the USA, and Europe.
To get more information about It Starts Where It Ends, please visit the official web page of the exhibition.
In addition, you might be interested in exploring Between Metamorphosis and Reality by Maitha Abdalla and Mauka to Makai by Shingo Yamazaki.
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