Postmordial Soup invites visitors to experience an immersive realm in ICD Brookfield Place. Working through cross-dimensional mediums, from video to sound, Ziad, Talal and Miramar invite guests to enter an otherworldly space that feels simultaneously like a sanctuary of origin and an extraterrestrial terrain. Postmordial Soup responds to questions on the origins of life and the influences of the soup that shape the contemporary condition.
The collective of artists delve into the human experience while maintaining their distinctive approach. They explore themes of the collapsing of time, the interplay between the foreign and the familiar, the coalescence of past and future, and the intricate interconnections they discern between the digital, the physical, and the natural realms. The exhibited body of work is the result of a recent artist residency that took place under ICD Brookfield Place’s Art Program in collaboration with Tabari Artspace Gallery.
Maliha Tabari, Tabari Artspace Founder states “As we mark the milestone of our gallery’s 20th anniversary in the UAE, our programming pays homage to the artistic talent that has breathed life into our journey – both the emerging and the established. Presenting the exhibition, “Postmordial Soup,” in collaboration with ICD Brookfield Place we cast a spotlight on a dynamic wave of emerging talent hailing from the region: Ziad Al Najjar, Talal Al Najjar, and Miramar Al Nayyar. Postmordial Soup showcases their compelling cross-disciplinary contemplations in response to the questions of our time; questions of past and future, origins and the digital and physical divide.”
Malak Abu-Qaoud, Arts & Events Manager for ICD Brookfield Place states “We’re thrilled to partner with Tabari Artspace for this much-anticipated exhibition, where three young and incredibly talented artists will form their studio at ICD Brookfield Place; creating new artworks that will manifest into an extraordinary exhibition. It’s with immense pleasure that we present these artists, individuals with whom we’ve watched grow and develop close relationships, and whose artworks hold a special place within our permanent collection.”
Talal Al Najjar’s creations interlink and journey through seemingly disparate epochs. His explorations navigate realms of ancient history, the contemporary landscape, and potential futures. The selected works span paintings, sculptures, videos, soundscapes, CGI animations, holographic marvels, and other site-specific interventions.
Talal’s work juxtaposes imagery from sources as diverse as artefacts of the Gulf and modern-day meme culture. His art renders the familiar unfamiliar, contemplating the disconnect between our ancestral heritage and our current immersion in technology.
Ziad Al Najjar’s two-dimensional works achieve an ethereal yet familiar resonance through a play of light and colour. His creations navigate the intricate threads connecting the natural, the constructed, and the spiritual realms, leaving the audience pondering whether the virtue of these creations derives from a spiritual domain or is an embodiment of the sanctity of the human form – from the primordial cocoon of our bodies to the sanctuary of the mother’s womb.
Miramar Al Nayyar bridges the chasm between Talal’s exploration of time and material dimensions of existence and Ziad’s ethereal and spiritually evocative expressions. Miramar’s artistic journey finds its locus at the core of these two worlds. Her work transcends civilisation yet remains rooted and entwined with the very essence of Mother Earth. The exhibited pieces – works on canvas and sculptures – capture the interconnectedness that binds all life forms, symbolising the timeless dance of nature and the infinite prospects that human expression can manifest.
This latest work from Miramar stems from her recent exploration into the choreography of human motion, translated within the confines of a single canvas frame. Through layering translucent pigments, Miramar attempts to capture the weight and cadence of human movement. She instils a sense of depth and vitality into two-dimensional canvases. These creations seamlessly blend organic and abstract forms, resonating with the rhythmic harmony that underpins movement in the natural world.
Saba Sayfaiee, a visual designer from the United Arab Emirates will be designing the overall branding for the show. Her main interests lie in editorial design, typography, and branding. In her practice, Saba examines, researches, and explores different cultural, social, and behavioural topics utilizing various mediums. In 2021, she graduated with a B.S. in Visual Communication from the American University of Sharjah.
About the Artists
Miramar Al Nayyar (1997) is a multi-disciplinary artist hailing from Iraq, currently based between Amman and Dubai.
Al Nayyar’s three-dimensional works reveal her profound fascination with the interplay between nature, kinematic phenomena, temporality, and spatiality. Recently, Al Nayyar has placed her focus on an introspective examination of the nude topographies of desert rock formations and their relationship to the human body. In her praxis, Al Nayyar employs an innovative methodology to encapsulate and immortalise the ephemeral choreography of motion she observes within the desert-scape. The artist imbues her works with the ceaseless cadence of natural motion and captures the dialogue between transitory forces and eternal stasis.
Her self-developed technique amalgamates an array of approaches to painting ranging from oil glazing to the thin layering of wet-on-wet paint and airbrushing. Her work has been showcased at Gallery Ras Ain (2017), The Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts (2018), NOFA Gallery (2020), among others. She has also been a participating artist at numerous festivals and projects such as Baladk Street Art Festival
(2017-2019), Distrito Grafiti Festival (2019), Wall of Contemplation project (2019), the Factory Festival (2019) and Open Art Shuffle street art festival (2021).
Artist @miramar.muhd
Talal Al Najjar (1999) is an artist from the Emirates, based between Los Angeles and Dubai.
Driven by collecting, archiving, and distorting, his interdisciplinary practice recontextualizes transhistorical material culture and imagery with an absurdist lens. Defamiliarization and the uncanny teeter and prompt new anthropological and material questions in his work. He produces sculpture, video, sound, CGI animation, painting, and installation, in addition to other media. Primary concerns include ideas around simulation, poor images, artefacts, counter-futurisms, and the contention of postmodern conditions. He received his MFA from ArtCenter College of Design (2023), and his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2021). He has exhibited work in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
Artist @talalnajjar
Emirati visual artist Ziad Al Najjar’s (2001) exploratory approach to two and three-dimensional art aims to upturn fixed notions surrounding process, materiality, and visual perception.
Establishing an interplay between organic and inorganic forms Al Najjar reflects upon the connectedness between the natural, constructed and spiritual realms and how they relate to his lived experience in the contemporary moment.
Breaking from established conventions Al Najjar works upon an unstretched canvas, placing his focus on its material properties and releasing it from its flatness. Through his art, Al Najjar reimagines the canvas as a tapestry. For Al Najjar, pattern-making establishes an environment. Dense layers of colour are animated through a meticulous approach to mark-making. Al Najjar sweeps the canvas with vivid oil pastels. His forms embody the simultaneous precision and fluidity of patterns formed in nature, they meander and mutate. Manipulating depth and tone Al Najjar investigates optical creation and illusively engages with the illusionary.
Artist @ziadnajjar_
About ICD Brookfield Place Arts Program
ICD Brookfield Place Arts program creates community and opportunity through the transformative power of the arts. A vibrant and open space, we seek to engage and welcome everyone, inside and outside our walls, with the belief that having arts and culture in daily life positively impacts wellbeing.
ICD Brookfield Place Arts is a gateway for discovery and support for local and regional talent, offering visibility to emerging artists and more established creative practitioners through an array of year-round programming – from exhibitions and installations, to live music sessions, classes, workshops, and conversations. A collaborative commissioning and programming platform, participating artists and groups are selected for the relevance of their work and practice to our local community.
Elevating and amplifying the spaces, happenings, and artistic voices that bring meaning to a property like no other, ICD Brookfield Place Arts draws upon arts and culture as a foundational pillar for Brookfield Properties globally. Raising market standards in every aspect of the workplace environment, the program is at the heart of a new model that champions the potential of arts and culture to enrich, inform, and transform the daily lives of our tenants, the community of Dubai, and our global partners.
For more information, visit our website or follow us on Instagram.
About Tabari Artspace
A Bridge Between Worlds
For the last two decades, Tabari Artspace Gallery has played a central role in connecting international audiences to the modern and contemporary artists of the MENA region and its diaspora. Advanced by an all-women team, Tabari Artspace foregrounds marginalised perspectives and lesser-known narratives in contemporary art.
Programming
Tabari Artspace has chartered the evolution of MENA art from the early 2000s towards the emerging artists of today. Our represented artists are conceptually engaged with issues pertinent to the human condition and are united through fine art quality and hand touch.
The cultural ecosystem in the UAE has been central to the Tabari Artspace trajectory. The gallery is committed to contributing to the region’s cultural vision through the identification and advancement of artistic talent residing in and reflecting upon the GCC.
Community
Community engagement and wider social access to MENA art are at the core of Tabari Artspace’s missions.
The gallery has fostered relationships between artists and art appreciators, establishing a dynamic community that crosses generations. Physical programming is supplemented by digital counterparts, talks, publishing, workshops, and community events. The Tabari Artspace international residency programme encourages the artists of the region to expand their practice amid new contexts.
