The Journey

In 2022, the Ras Al Khaimah Fine Arts Festival has as its theme “The Journey”.  As it is the 10th anniversary of the festival, which takes place as the UAE celebrates its 50th anniversary, this annual celebration of contemporary art reflects on the journey of the festival, Ras Al Khaimah and the United Arab Emirates, and encourages us to consider our relationship with space, time, and the self.   

The festival, which began in 2013 as a local festival, transitioned in 2019 to an international festival.  In 2019 it also became an outdoor festival when it moved to Al Jazirah Al Hamra Heritage Village.

I was privileged to visit Al Jazirah Al Hamra in February 2016 and saw archaeologists at work. The old fort was still in the process of being restored. The experience was amazing and I wrote about it at the time.

I visited the Ras Al Khaimah Arts Fine Arts Festival in its original format, but in 2019 we moved to Canada before I had experienced it in its new format and location. 

Following it online the wish to exhibit there grew, and when I saw the theme of this year’s festival, “The Journey”, I knew the time had come in my life’s journey to make the effort to realize this dream.  

My iPhoneart forms part of the up and coming Mobile Art Movement. The figures in my iPhone artworks, although rooted, appear to be moving in a dimension beyond normal space and time. We are invited to enter this space filled with mystery and potential to discover the journey waiting to unfold. This I felt, was most fitting for the theme.  

This theme of rootedness and movement is in part inspired by the stories of Bedouins. Journeying through the desert they were on the move, but when they stopped, their “centre of now” became the place they were at. 

My process involves an exploration of time, space, interconnectedness, rootedness and movement - parameters i term “here2here”. This too I felt was in keeping with the theme.  

The decision was made! As I pondered upon which works to submit, I was inspired to include works which depicted another theme that flows through my work - the traditional dress of the UAE and my observations of how the abaya, worn by women, changed in the years I lived in the region. A keen observer of culture, I noticed that the fashions women wore started to change over time and that the black abaya slowly began to be replaced by ones incorporating more color.  The abaya has made its own journey and has its own story to tell.  

The abaya is an outer cloak, the public dress, worn by women in many areas of the Arab world.  

In earlier times it was a large article of clothing worn draped off the head.  As time passed and this form became impractical for women as they went about their daily lives with all the demands of modern living, this traditional garment  evolved into a longer jacket, cape like form, which was more functional. These garments were originally black, and that was the format and color I encountered upon my arrival in the UAE in 2010. 

At this point in time many women wear the abaya but in a variety of colors, textures and textiles. As the UAE welcomed many different cultures into its midst, women found themselves in globalized settings. They have adapted their clothing style and their fashion to not only reflect their traditions at the same time as their individuality, but also to be functional for use in the era they find themselves living in.  

More detailed information about the evolution of the abaya can be found here,  courtesy of The Zay Initiative, founded by Dr Reem El Mutwalli.

I am very honoured and proud to report that two of my works were selected and are being exhibited in the desert in large format at this year’s Ras Al Khaimah Fine Arts Festival, which will be held from February 4 - March 31, 2022.  

 Change ©Linda Hollier

The woman in the artwork “Change” was one of the first women I saw wearing an abaya that was mainly white.  She certainly seemed to be moving in a different dimension to most others around her. As she confidently journeyed into the future she was certainly inviting others to follow her on this journey.

 Dissolving ©Linda Hollier

The stripes in the abaya in this artwork are moving but the woman appears to be confidently rooted.  Tradition and the future are apparent at the same time. 

This work was also projected onto 9 metre and 13 metre screens at The Equinox Experience in Santo Stefano Al Ponte in Florence in 2017.  That this piece journeys from a deconsecrated church in Italy to the desert of the UAE is in itself amazing to me.  

Both works were created entirely on my iPhone before being printed onto recycled wood. 

I intuitively captured the women in these works as I went about my day. The recycled wood reminds us of the importance of being grounded whilst the use of modern technology hints at movement.  The media used as well as the women in the work and what they are wearing remind us of the importance of our history as we journey into the future.   

Zoom, We-Spaces of Ubuntu

When I initially set up my website in 2011 and called my blog here2here, I wanted the term here2here to include two messages - the need to be fully present in the moment instead of acting on autopilot; and the call to mindfully use technology in a special place which was beyond the normal realms of time and space. 

Besides being a wonderful hashtag, the term suggests connectivity, interconnectedness and interdependence, calls us to acknowledge the other, invites us to widen our embrace and encourages us to broaden our perspectives.

When we meet online and communicate in here2here, perhaps another name for cyberspace, we are meeting in a special place where distance does not separate us. 

Over the years, since my blog here2here came into being,  we have seen an exponential increase in the availability of connectivity and data, and all that means for the world of apps.

Communication has evolved from the spoken word between peoples physically present, to the written word via letters with time delay, to the immediate spoken word via telephone, to emails with immediate delivery, to instant messaging via word or audio, to being able to see each other via media such as Skype and FaceTime.

This has been followed by video conferencing with apps like Zoom and Microsoft Teams, which make it possible for many of us to communicate and see each other simultaneously. Special we-spaces now exist online. 

And how timely this development has proven to be.   

We currently find ourselves in an unprecedented time in history.  The world is currently experiencing a global pause, brought about by a virus.  Covid-19 has resulted in the majority of the world’s population being in either quarantine or lockdown.  Streets are empty. We find ourselves at home with workplaces and services, except the essential, shut down.  With schools closed, families negotiate new experiences where the average day includes working from home and doing online schooling.

Much of the day for many of the world’s population is currently being spent online in here2here space. 

Although in isolation and totally separated by distance, individuals are using virtual space and apps like Zoom to not only participate in meetings or attend school, but to also sing together, meet with their loved ones and friends, offer online classes, coaching and therapy sessions, meditate together  and even create art. Each of these online encounters take place in these very special we-spaces. 

Over the past years, I have explored the architecture of cyberspace through word and image.  Now more than ever before, we need to pay careful attention to the mindful use of the communication apps at our disposal and the we-spaces we are creating online. 

Before entering the we-spaces created by using video conferencing apps, it is a good idea to get in touch with oneself by becoming aware of the breath, the sensations in our bodies, our emotions and current mental activity.  That way we will be better able to be present to the others online and to connect with them. 

Upon entering these we-spaces we soon become aware that it is not only the mind which is engaged as is the case when we message or email.  The ability to see faces and expressions means that emotions are involved as well. As we begin to resonate with each other, a field is created which involves all present in the video call. A flow of positive energy can be cultivated. 

The visuals of the we-spaces where we meet contribute to the experience, and are created by each individual participating.  People are realizing that these spaces invite creativity. Zoom virtual backgrounds, for example, are proving to be  highly popular.

Dr. Helen Papagiannis writes in her article “Zoom and Digital Fashion”,

“They’re a means to hide the real background in your home, serve as an icebreaker, and are a way to express yourself and be creative in these stressful times..”

Helen also suggests that while we are spending all these hours in front of the camera we might need something digital to wear and this could lead to the rise of digital fashion! 

Each one of us, whether we realize it or not, is a co-architect in the new social worlds being created.  

There is a wonderful Southern African philosophy called “ubuntu” often translated as “I am because we are”, or “humanity towards others” which speaks to the fact that we are all connected. 

Archbishop Tutu, who led the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1996 says, “We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole world.” 

here2here incorporates the concept of ubuntu, and as I use modern technology to create and send out my iPhone artworks into borderless realms, these words are always close to my heart.

The philosophy of ubuntu is gaining ground in the current global crisis. Earlier this month the Nonprofit organization Ubuntulovechallenge came into being encouraging #loveoverfear.  The concept is beautifully introduced in this video. Opportunities abound to advance humanity.

here2here also shouts out the message of ubuntu from the rooftops of Zoom spaces and rooms, and people all over the world are rising to the occasion. Despite the sadness and fear being experienced by so many, incredible acts of humanity fill the news during these trying times.

Placing some of the figures in my iPhone artworks into a Zoom meeting I was confronted with the following: 

I like to think that I chose not to screenshot  the moment when they were all looking at the camera and at it each other, but rather to capture that fraction of a second when simultaneously by chance, each one turned briefly away from the screen to catch a glimpse of something, before coming back to share it with the rest of the group. I choose to believe too that what they glimpsed were humans in all their beauty, performing acts of love and kindness. Diverse, but fully aware of unity and a shared humanity.

As of April 2020, 4,57 billion people of the 7,8 billion global population (59%) have access to the internet.  As we continue to explore the options and potential of video conferencing apps may we carry with us the philosophy of ubuntu. 

The world will never be the same again. We have moved fully from the Information Age into the Transformation Age. The “normal” some wish to return to never existed. Humanity as a whole is now being given the opportunity to co-create we-spaces of peace, unity and love.

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Corridors of cyberspace

Artist Talk at Viewings 1

A new series of events called "Viewings", dedicated to experiencing the dynamic relationship which occurs when art is vewed without the intellect of mind, has opened in the ARTROM Network artist presentation space in Rome, Italy.

When we stand in front of a work and simply see and feel, a personal dialogue begins ... an intimate relationship. After all art is communication. ~ Elizabeth Genovesi, Founding Director, Artrom Network.

As one of the participating artists with my #here2here series, I was privileged to be at the Vernissage Party of Viewings 1, and to also take part in the Artist Talk Series.

I am happy to share here, the talk I gave at this event:

My love of photography began as a small child. I had a tiny box camera and would line up my neighbourhood friends with their arms folded across their chests to take their photos. I also loved communicating - I probably spoke too much in class :) I set up a home telephone system - a little switch board with lots of wires and two other phones - that was a gift designed for children, throughout our house and would proudly call my Dad in the morning when I woke because I knew that that meant he would bring me tea in bed before I went to school. I loved technology. I once took my transistor radio to school, put it in my blazer pocket and then through a tiny hole in my pocket, (not sure where the hole came from!) had the wire of the earphone go up under my blazer into my ear under my one pony tail. Eventually I acquired a walkie talkie. When I learnt to drive I made sure I had a CB radio - a citizens band radio - in my car and at home and would spend evenings chatting to unknown people far away.

My curious nature meant that I read a lot, and my mother says she would often find me reading a book, with only one sock and shoe on when I was supposed to be getting ready for school.

When I started my website four years ago in April 2011, I had two topics I wanted to write about. The first was technology and in particular cyberspace -the mindspace we find ourselves in when we communicate online. The second was mindfulness - paying attention in a particular way - on purpose, in the moment, non-judgmentally. Finding a suitable name for a website which covered these two seemingly very different issues proved interesting. After much thought and discussion the website here2here was born.

It referred to a non-located space beyond normal time and space where people could chat and exchange info - the place where your here met my here - here2here; and it was also a call to come out of autopilot and be totally present in the now - here2here.

I began to write about mindfulness and especially about the need to be mindful when using technology.

I had embarked on a photography project for myself, called mobileart. When I arrived in the UAE I was inspired by the stories of the bedouins who were nomads. Always on the move, they knew as they wandered through the desert what it was like to have a centre that would always be changing.

Using only my mobile phone, I would take photos of that which I found beautiful and share each one immediately via twitter enabling the photos to become mobile. I hoped too that the project would be a sharing of a consciousness on the move. There’s a video of the project on youtube.

Shortly after that I got my first iphone, posted my first picture on the 11th day of the 11th month 2011, on the then one year old Instagram, and shortly after that discovered a whole new world - the world of apps.

I began to follow blogs about them, gather them but most importantly experiment with them. On a daily basis. I still do that - the world of apps is fast moving and fast changing.

Realizing that cyberspace was very much like Baroque art where scenes flow into each other and into the space of the viewer with the viewer determining the centre of the spectacle at any moment in time, I started my first series entitled Digital Archways. Your here and many other heres are brought to my here via the interface of a screen but I can choose what I pay attention to and also how I give it my attention.

I had also started photographing the skyscrapers of Dubai at the time, and so using photos of Dubai architecture, looked more at the architecture of cyberspace, and created the abstract series called Corridors of Cyberspace.

All of these visual expressions began to accompany and add to my writing.

Communicating and sharing visual outcomes online became a great source of encouragement.

The major turning point in my work, came, I believe, when I began to experiment with slowshutter photography on my iphone. A flaneur by nature, I was often out walking and so I began taking photos of people whose energy somehow spoke to me. I don’t know how else to express that. Remember: The longer a camera’s shutter remains open the more light it takes in!

The capturing of these moments called for me to be very alert and aware, so this form of photographing not only flowed out of my mindfulness practice but also became a mindfulness practice in its own way.

Excited by the results I was getting, I began to take these images one step further and intuitively, using various apps, give them a painterly effect.

I edit the slowshutter image with apps. I create my own textures on an app. These are blended into aspects of the image on another app. I add atmosphere with other apps and I actually “paint” on my iphone screen with others. I have learnt to work on resolution using an app and I even have an app which is like a miniature laboratory telling me more about the megapixels and megabytes of each image. This became important when I realized I wanted to print large scale.

I have over a period of time come to realize that these artworks embody much that is important to me: Rootedness and Movement occurring simultaneously, Emptiness and Fullness, Essence and Presence. They are not only a visual portrayal of a non-located space, whether it be cyberspace or the space where everything comes into being, but also call one to be mindful, aware and present. In them my writing, my intentions, my love of photography, my love of art in all its forms, have all come together and found expression. For this reason, this series here to be viewed and experienced in Rome is a very special one for me.

When working with these images, I often feel as if the outcome is simply moving through me, and so I believe that each one will speak when and how it is meant to.

I have included the hashtag in the title of this series #here2here, as just as hashtags bring data from all over into one place, so the artworks in this series come together to acknowledge diversity on many levels, but at the same time call out for respect of the other, encouraging the knowledge that we are all more similar than we realize. The crossing over of the lines in the symbol for a hashtag are a reminder of our interconnectedness and interbeing.

The artworks are printed onto wood in Germany. On a visit there, while looking at different ways to present my work, I came across a young artist who had recently started out printing in this field and was also eager to support other artists. Our here2here collaboration has been a pleasure so far. The fact that the artworks are printed on wood is a reminder to me to stay grounded. What is more rooted than a tree? But despite its groundedness a tree has life flowing through it all the time in a myriad of ways.

Rootedness, Movement, Emptiness, Fullness, Essence, Presence.

#here2here

The series can be viewed on my art website or below via youtube:

At the end of the talk I also gave a demonstration of how augmented reality could possibly be used with art.

Holding my ipad up to one of the artworks on the wall, I scanned it using the Layar app and then chatted about what appeared on my screen.

Curiosity is key

By nature I love to explore. I can remember being at school and encouraging my friends to join me in discovering exactly what was underneath the stage of the school hall. Waiting until no one was around, we carefully opened the trapdoor, and climbed into the dirt beneath with torches in hand, home-made shields on our knees and masks covering our mouths in case the dust was too severe. Despite the fact that dirt and dust was all that was there, the excitement of the exploration remains in my memory. 

Wandering down alleys and streets, watching people while soaking in the sights, sounds and smells, fills me with joy.  At heart I am a flaneur, a person who walks the city in order to experience it.  

This morning, instead of going on a walk to discover and photograph more skyscrapers in Downtown Dubai, I made my way by metro to visit the souqs in Deira. I have visited this area many times and love to wander up and down the various alleyways known as sikkas. 

As I made my way around the Grand Deira Souq I noticed a sign I had not seen before: Museum of the poet Al Oqaili. Following similar signs I came upon a small museum which still had much construction going on on the outside. I discovered afterwards that the Al Oqaili Museum has only been opened this month.

 

I was welcomed in and made my way around the restored home of the poet.

 Earlier as I wandered I had tweeted, 

Smells of spices as I wander through the souks. #mindfulness #flaneur

— Linda Hollier (@lindahollier) December 11, 2012

Now on the walls I found a poem written by Al Oqaili about Dubai containing these words:

“Its scent captivated me since I was a little boy.

For it I left all valuable things.”

As I explored the home of the man who had been both a store owner and a poet, and whose work is highly valued in Arabic literature, I had a sense that I was meant to find this place. The poet’s table, his displayed writings, the quiet atmosphere of the courtyard, the teak doors and the restored gypsum ornaments, invited me to reflect again on the creativity that not only lays at the heart of silence, but flourishes when curiosity abounds. 

Al Oqaili had travelled about before settling in Dubai so he must have been curious. 

Recently, Anthony Lawlor tweeted the following:

Curiosity is the guiding impulse of flaneurs. cc @lindahollier

— AnthonyLawlor (@AnthonyLawlor) December 1, 2012

Further tweets by him read as follows:

Curiosity comes from the root to care. To care about life is to be curious.

Simply being present to what is as it is = a great adventure

Curioser and Curiouser is the natural response to noticing what is actually happening. 

The last tweet reminded me of my blog called “Linda in Wonderland” and made me realize again how much we need to encourage the natural curiosity of small children instead of stifling it.  Melissa Davis, the mother of George Davis, a fellow flaneur (both in the here and in the here2here of cyberspace), writes in an update to Mindfulness and Flanerie: 

Years ago I read a NYTimes op ed that shared the unscientific findings of a city dweller observing adults accompanying small children around a neighborhood in Manhattan. She reported that the majority of them pushed strollers which ensured timely arrivals wherever the adult was headed. She contrasted them with the handful of adults who walked – meandered – alongside their youngsters, stopping to examine every interesting flower or bit of flotsam along the way. She pointed out that there was nothing more important for a child that age to do than poke along – and through – every curiosity.

Right now we need to foster a generation that will ask questions, search for answers and create solutions.  Unfortunately most of our current school systems merely offer education - the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, and fail to encourage true learning. 

In a recent Huffington post interview entitled “Mindfulness in the Modern World”, Jon Kabat-Zinn states:

All the interesting stuff is found on the edge between knowing and not knowing.

NASA’s Curiosity rover has landed on Mars. Thirty-five years and 11 billion miles later, Voyager 1 has finally reached the edge of the solar system and will next enter a magnetic highway .

The realms of cyberspace appear to be limitless, and there too we will need to explore with care and curiosity. So fellow cyberflaneurs, not only do we need to listen deeply but our ascent needs to be noted for having at its heart, a deep sense of curiosity. 

Digital Archways

Living in Dubai, I am constantly surrounded by Islamic forms of art. Even many of the futuristic looking skyscrapers that grace the city’s skyline are modern interpretations of Islamic architecture. Calligraphy, geometric patterns, domes and arches abound, and one never has to look too far to find wonderful examples of these art forms.

As many of you know, I am a keen flaneur and iphoneographer who enjoys wandering and taking photos of Dubai’s architecture when the weather permits. With the heat outside on the increase at the moment, my outdoor expeditions are becoming a bit limited. A trip to take some photographs of the Wafi Mall the other morning, found me hastily looking for some shade.  

iPhone in hand, I found myself in an interesting outdoor passageway.  I was struck by the light and the different inner and outer arches. The pointed arch so typical of Islamic architecture caught my eye especially.  Out came my recently acquired olloclip, and this picture was the result using the fisheye lens:

Today when I looked at the photograph, I noticed how my recent reading was undoubtedly influencing the way I was viewing the image. The circle hinted at by the fisheye effect was a reminder of a wholeness within which the contents of the image appeared to be enfolded.  At the same time the distorted effect of the closest arch made it appear to be coming towards me, a reminder that it was unfolding from the space in which it was contained. 

Excited by the fact that with all the photo apps available to us now I could edit this image I set to work. My editing is done intuitively and I choose various apps according to what I feel will suit the photo at hand. Using the apps decim8, image blender and snapseed, and after four steps in the edit, this was the result:

 

Upon closer inspection you will notice that the image is not entirely symmetrical.  Certain sections are, but they stand alongside the asymmetry to be found in the overall image, adding to its enchantment in my opinion. The image, filled with color, light and shadow, hints at volume but also at void. 

The pointed arch in the middle, so typical of Islamic architecture, invites me to enter the passageway. At the same time, however, it allows me to slip around it to explore the surrounds. 

I have been reading about Baroque art and how in this art form with its many scenes flowing into each other and almost into the space of the viewer, the viewer determined the centre of the spectacle at any moment in time. This centre was constantly shifting depending on the viewer’s focus. My image reminded me of this. 

How Baroque-like cyberspace is. We are able to enter various streams, whether they be of words, sounds or images. Each tweet, for example, brings a part of you and your point of view right onto my screen. Your here is brought to my here via the interface of my screen, in itself an electronic stained glass work of art.  I can choose to focus on your tweet, follow its links if they are there, or reflect upon what has been said. I can also skim over it and many others until something in particular captures my attention and focus.

However, unlike in Baroque art, we are connecting in the digital world not with forms and figures on a dome but with real people. The fact that I am able to receive an immediate response to my posting from others all over the world in this polycentric environment adds a collective dimension to the whole event and is bringing about a level of interconnectedness not imagined before.

At one stage I wanted to call this blog “DIgital Baroque”, only to discover that a book by that name already exists! This discovery just added to my musings.  Perhaps all ideas exist enfolded in potential, and at different times and in different places unfold to make themselves known to those who can hear them. 

I have decided to take the edited image above and work with it further in the weeks to come.  I will post the results on Instagram and add them to a gallery on this website. As I live in Dubai in the Middle East I want the resulting edits to reflect the region but to also have a global appeal.  I wish to discover all that this image has to tell me. It is my wish too that the images will encourage viewers to open themselves to new perspectives, hold multiple perspectives simultaneously, shift focus where necessary, drop some of the boundaries that limit their vision, and open themselves to others as well as to creative potential.