Net Zero Ithra
Net Zero Exhibition at Ithra
21.08.2024
   Reading 3 min
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The King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture (Ithra) in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, is hosting Net Zero, an innovative collective exhibition curated by Candida Pestana and Lama Alissa. Designed and produced by ACCIONA Cultura, a global company specialising in creating museums, interiors, and immersive experiences, the show centres on sustainability, the environment, and reimagining humanity’s relationship with nature. On view at Gallery 1, it will be open to the public until 31 August 2024.

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Net Zero (installation view). The King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture (Ithra), Dammam, Saudi Arabia, 2024. Courtesy of ACCIONA Cultura.

The thought-provoking exhibition displays 27 works by 18 contemporary artists, including two Saudi creatives, who focus on issues like sustainability, the climate crisis, geopolitics, and environmental discourse. The displayed pieces, nine of which were commissioned specifically for the exhibition, showcase how different artists use their work to highlight the importance of striving for net zero, a term that describes the balance between greenhouse gas emissions and their removal from the atmosphere.

A standout aspect of the Net Zero exhibition is its zero-waste approach. It considers not only the artworks themselves but also their installation and the overall scenography. Every element designed and provided by ACCIONA Cultura, including the undulating 3D-printed white concrete walls, will be repurposed after the exhibition concludes.

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Net Zero (installation view). The King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture (Ithra), Dammam, Saudi Arabia, 2024.

Among the works on display is City of Thorns by Saudi artist Zahrah Al-Ghamdi, who draws inspiration from the land and uses organic materials and objects sourced from the environment. This site-specific artwork made of thorns and brown-tinted leaves arranged in a circular shape symbolises nature’s resilience. It draws our attention to the impact of climate change, emphasising our responsibility to protect the natural world for future generations.

Mohammad Al-Faraj, a Saudi artist and farmer from the Al-Ahsa region, presents three video works. One of them, Ghost of a Farmer, is a five-minute collage of video snippets documenting the life of farmers harvesting the renowned hassawi red rice. Meanwhile, Jordanian architect and artist Dina Haddadin displays Fine to Finite, a site-specific art piece that critiques the exploitation of nature’s resources for human consumption and expansion. Created specifically for the exhibition, the work comprises a central sculpture made of sand and resin (the finite) paired with an audiovisual installation (the infinite digital), both situated in a circular space.

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Dina Haddadin, Fine to Finite (installation view). The King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture (Ithra), Dammam, Saudi Arabia, 2024. Courtesy of the artist.

The other creatives participating in the exhibition are SUPERFLEX, a famous Danish art collective; English photographer Nick Brandt and walking artist Hamish Fulton; American artists Emil Lukas, Ron Griffin, and Gregory Mahoney; French multimedia artist Philippe Parreno; Zimbabwean sculptor Moffat Takadiwa; Canadian textile artist Ava Roth collaborating with beekeeper Mylee Nordin; Nigerian artist Bright Ugochukwu Eke; Norwegian artist Ane Graff; Italian artist Willy Verginer; British artist Ian Kiaer; German photographer Tom Hegen; and Dutch artist Jan Dibbets.

To get more information about Net Zero, please go to the official web page of the exhibition.

In addition, you might be interested in viewing Artist’s Garden: Samur by Zheng Bo and looking at The Cell by Zahrah Al-Ghamdi, a public art piece on the front of the Hayy Jameel building.

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