Indeterminate Plateaus
'Refusing To Be Still' 21'39 Jeddah Art Week 5th Edition
Commissioned by: Saudi Art Council
Curated by: Vassilis Oikonomopoulos
Bricklab have taken on an ambitious commission; intervening in the building of Rubat Al-Khunji, in the district of Al-Balad, the old town of Jeddah.
The architectural intervention aims at rethinking and reconfiguring the building in an unconventional way, creating a space for the presentation of artworks in the courtyard.
The ground floor rooms of the building have been adapted to host a variety of plants in custom-made spaces.
The project’s goal is to generate discussion about what architecture can do in a historical context, where extremely relevant notions such as tradition, future use, preservation and dereliction often collide.
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Bricklab is treating the commission not just as an architectural object, but as something that injects intensity into a city and contributes to an ever-evolving culture of dialogue about past, present and future.
Deeply embedded into the exhibition’s central conceptual landscape, the plants used by Bricklab pose their own key questions. Engaging with the human dimensions of local history and global issues such as transnational trade, movement of individuals and populations, and environment and nature, the plants construct a portrait of the city of Jeddah and its history.
They highlight the idea of nature as culture, allowing viewers to explore the possibilities for alternative ways of connecting contexts and understanding the evolution of life and aesthetics.
program: installation
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location: rubat alkhunji, albalad, jeddah
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duration: 24 weeks
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curator: Sets Engineering
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year: 2018
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status: finished
