Dubai is one of the major cultural centers of the world, so it is no surprise that one can get their daily dose of art even in DXB (Dubai International Airport). Next time you are there, we recommend you to have a look at two sculptures created by Emirati artist Jamal Habroush Al Suwaidi.
At Terminal 1’s Concourse D, the sculpture titled Love-Red was installed. To create this art piece, Al Suwaidi drew his inspiration from the LOVE series of works by pop artist Robert Indiana, one of his favorites. However, Al Suwaidi used the Arabic word “hobb” (which means “love”) instead of the English one.
At Terminal 3 Arrivals, there is Al Suwaidi’s gold sculpture My Dallah which is made of fiberglass. It is an abstract representation of two significant components of the UAE’s culture — an Arabian coffee pot (“dallah”) and cup (“fenjan”). By the way, Al Suwaidi created one more art piece which is dedicated to this theme: “The Coffee Beans”, an installation representing the coffee beans themselves. To make it, the artist used his memories of what the bean means to the Arab world as a source. “Coffee has been a symbol of generosity, warmth and friendship for centuries [here], […] embedded in our culture and heritage and now adopted in the same manner elsewhere”, Al Suwaidi says.
Jamal Habroush Al Suwaidi (born in 1971) studied at the Sharjah Art Institute, took courses in drawing, sculpting and ceramics and attended workshops in the UAE, France and Switzerland. His art is influenced heavily by the UAE’s nature, culture and heritage; Arabic calligraphy is what interests him a lot. The artist says that being a student, he dreamt of “creating art that highlights [Arabian] cultural […] history”. This is a goal he pursues in his work.
You might also like the idea of visiting Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard where a collection of street sculptures and statues can be found.
