by Alexandra Mansilla
Meet the "Artists In Flux": Omar Al Gurg, Sara Naim and Adrian Pepe
14 Mar 2024
"Artists in Flux" is a curatorial project by The Nomad Circle and Gucci involving artists from around the world. The fourth chapter took place in Dubai. The participants were three exceptionally talented artists: Omar Al Gurg, Sara Naim, and Adrian Pepe. We talked to them to learn more about the project and the works they presented.
Omar Al Gurg
— You participated in the fourth chapter, “Artists in Flux,” by Nomad and Gucci. How did it all happen?
— The participation happened seamlessly, and it came as a surprise, actually! It was such an honour to be shortlisted to exhibit with The Nomad Circle and Gucci, among other talented artists.
Showcasing the functionality of our products at MODU in an artistic way was great, and seeing it in sculptural form right next to the other pieces was also quite thrilling. Overall, the participation was enjoyable, and the plans for the future are always going to be onward and upward!
— Can you please describe the project "Artists in Flux" in your own words?
— I think everything around is constantly changing, and as people we have to adapt to change. Artists especially need to be okay with the changes happening around them, so the art that they produce can evolve and can move from one place to another. Many of them even have different bases in different countries, always moving where the wind takes them. I think that it just a gist of what “Artists in Flux” could mean.
Photo: Nikita Berezhnoy
— What pieces of Modu Method were you presenting as part of this project?
— We presented Coco, the rocking lounge chair, and a whole bunch of Nus and NuNus, modular blocks made of GRC that can adapt to any setting. We created the DJ booth, podiums, and a sculptural element with the Nus, and the NuNus were scattered on the dinner table to help with the arrangement.
— Have you worked with Sara or Adrian before? If yes, how was it?
— I have worked with Adrian, yes! But it is my first time working alongside Sara. Both are incredibly lovely and I hope we get to work together again.
With Adrian, our pieces generally speak to each other. I think, there is a dialogue that happens there, so it comes naturally. Seeing them come together again and again is always a pleasure. With Sara, since it is our first time exhibiting together, it was quite interesting to see both our works in the same space! I look forward to maybe seeing it happen again.
Sara Naim
— How did the opportunity to be part of this project come about? How did you find out that you were included in the list of the artists?
— Nicolas Bellavance-Lecompte, the co-founder of NOMAD, is friends with Sunny Rahbar, the co-founder of "The Third Line", the gallery I am represented by. He or VCA organising “Artists in Flux” was looking for artists and connected to my practice.
— Can you please describe the project "Artists in Flux" in your own words?
— We live in a nomadic and globalised world, and I think Dubai is an especially potent reminder of that. Taking three artists from three different parts of the world who have roots here is part of NOMAD’s story of art and location.
— How would you describe your practice?
— I would describe it as deconstructing perception and exploring polarities to see how human perception can shift. I have worked with pleasure and pain, birth and death, expectation and reality, cell and vastness. By seeing polarities as one and the same, the idea of boundaries comes into question: are boundaries constructs? If solidity and impenetrability aren’t fundamental, how does that alter our perception?
Photo: Nikita Berezhnoy
— What type of work were you presenting as part of this project and in relation to the other artists?
— I showed six works from three different series, so it was interesting to pull them together. Especially because they were amongst Adrian and Omar’s work. We all had this idea of building blocks, which you see from Adrian’s inverted circular forms indicating the cellular, and then Omar’s modular pieces that stack and form something grander, and then a glitched video of my skin cells and Jasmine from my grandmother’s Damascus garden. I had an artwork that included lemons next to the dinner table, so we had a long row of lemons as the table arrangement. There was definitely a scaling in and scaling out pattern that echoed throughout SKOONI.
— Have you worked with Omar Al Gurg or Adrian Pepe before? If yes, how was it?
— Never. I really enjoyed getting to know them and their practice — they are awesome!
Adrian Pepe
— How did the opportunity to be part of this project come about? How did you find out that you were included in the list of the artists?
— I have known of The Nomad Circle since its inception and was very happy to know about my inclusion in the fourth chapter of "Artist in Flux". After being contacted to participate, we had several discussions regarding how to create a dialogue between the chosen space, my work and the work of the other artists.
— Can you please describe the project "Artists in Flux" in your own words?
— "Artist in Flux" is an initiative conceived by the founders of The Nomad Circle, powered by Gucci, Giorgio Pace and Nicolas Bellavance-Lecompte. The project brings to light themes of mobility, reflecting on what nomadism means today. We live in a world of hyper-mobility, a symptom of our hyper-connected nature, resulting in the constant transfer and blending of ideas, materials, and bodies at such a sudden rate with little chance for pause. As a condition of our time, I find this initiative timely and relevant.
— What type of work were you presenting as part of this project? Could you share its name and the meaning behind it?
— For the fourth chapter of "Artists in Flux" I was presenting three works or work series. "Shepherd's Cloak" (2021) is one of them. The starting point for this piece is the interior lining of a traditional shepherd’s cloak made of animal skins.
"Sky Cult" (2023) by Adrian Pepe
Then, "Sky Cult" (2023). This work uses ochre, a naturally occurring pigment derived from the earth. It is considered the oldest known pigment. The pigment is used by shepherds to brand their flocks, yielding yellow markings or polka dots dispersed across the individual sheeps’ bodies, granting a sense of identity to each animal.
And "Shedding" (2023) is a life-sized cast made of felted sheep wool, resulting from the artist’s exploration of funerary rituals as an act of rebirth. The work takes the form of an effigy, capturing the artist's likeness, a form of self-portraiture.
Photo: Nikita Berezhnoy
— How would you characterise your art in general?
— As a fibre artist, my works are textile-based. Through the process of directly colliding with the sentient provider of the raw material, be it plant or animal, relational ties are formed, resulting in objects of use and cultural significance and, more importantly, a holistic understanding of processes in nature. Through my work, I would like for people to reconnect to a sense of primalism, a return to the origins, revisiting an ancestral knowledge base. During these unprecedented times, this moment of global fragility invites us to search for answers from a more integrated perspective, revisiting more grounded forms of existence.
— Have you worked with Omar Al Gurg or Sara before? If yes, how was it?
— I have worked with Omar on several projects; our work is often grouped together as our pieces speak to one another in harmony. The relationship between our works also translates to our relationship as friends. I find our works of antipodal personalities yet of similar origins; it is through the juxtaposition between hard and soft, linear and crocked, modular and rooted that the essence of each work becomes magnified. I find this sort of dialogue at the core of what The Nomad Circle seeks to exemplify through art, objects, and architecture.
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