Remember the days of dial-up internet, clunky websites, and old pixelated graphics? Mouza Al Hamrani, a 29-year-old Emirati digital artist, in her first solo exhibition, takes visitors down a digital memory lane.
In her exhibition called ‘Homepage’, the illustrator and multimedia designer based in Ajman, UAE, reinterprets the digital ephemera of early Khaleeji cyberspace – a time when the internet was a novelty and online anonymity offered a unique space for expression.
The ongoing exhibition is being hosted at Tashkeel, an art gallery established in 2008 by Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) and Member of the Dubai Council.
Drawing on her own experiences growing up in the region, Al Hamrani bridges the virtual and physical worlds. By bringing digital relics into the real world, she raises intriguing questions in her work – what happens when digital artifacts are divorced from their original context? How did anonymity shape online expression? And, how did new technology affect the region’s cultural identity?
The exhibition is a result of Al Hamrani’s mentorship under Tashkeel’s Critical Practice Programme. Under this program practicing, selected contemporary artists living and working in the UAE, are offered studio support, critique and production, for up to one year.
Gallery location: Al Serkal Avenue, Al Quoz
Timings: Sunday to Thursday from 10am to 7pm and Friday from 9am to 12pm