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Sunday, July 12, 2009

Last day at Zayed University/ Exhibition at Tashkeel 2

Last day_working on group projects for the exhibition

Tashkeel_presenting each groups' project

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After the presentation, our group got critics from people who came to the exhibition. One of the comments we got was that our group project was more towards about the process and progress than the result or final product.
Implying our ideas into 4 individual panels was about going through a thought process to present the individuals. Then how those different 16 panels (4 each) come together and make one piece to present the ‘unity in variety.’ Our thoughts developed from the phrase that Maitha found, “Similar but so different, Different but so similar.”

As mentioned before,
“We are all different, but similar, and it is only when we share our thoughts that we accomplish the ultimate goal of understanding and peace.”

Bernard said, "Experience is what it is."

From this Dubai trip and working with Zayed University students, I learned how to compromise and negotiate each other’s ideas and opinions within the group. Working with group is an important part in design field. From sharing thoughts, I got to know and understand better about the culture and people.
Experiencing culture and people physically and emotionally was the whole process of making this Dubai trip much more valuable and unique.
This great experience gave me chance to expand my way of thinking and understanding different cultures. I definitely think this experience will affect my art.
I hope this opportunity can be shared and continued.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Last day at Zayed University/ Exhibition at Tashkeel

E- On our last day at Zayed, we finished up the individual part of the work on the panels, and moved quickly to get the backs painted. We laid all of the panels out and decided what composition looked best based on the imagery and colors that we chose, then flipped the panels and painted them a solid black. Once they dried we stenciled the quote "The essence of the beautiful is unity in variety"- a quote that we think really sums up what we wanted to achieve through our work.

At the actual exhibition we faced several obstacles when installing our work. We couldn't hang anything on the walls so we had to create a tiered platform by stacking tables and benches of various heights. We ended up covering our makeshift display with brown craft paper, as to not distract from the work itself. It worked out quite nicely, but boy was it a lot of work.

We weren't sure what to expect regarding the presentation of the work, were we doing a presentation to the whole crowd or were we going to just stand by the work and explain it to individual viewers? We prepared for the latter and therefore our presentation was somewhat short and disorganized. After the presentation we received comments and questions from several people. In general the feedback was positive, and the only criticism we received was about the presentation.

When the critique was over, the Zayed girls gave us amazing gifts like books, dates, burqas, textiles, and lots more. We had given them our gifts a few days before. The gift exchange was really great, and saying goodbye made me realize how close everyone had really gotten in such a short time. I can definitely say that working with the Zayed girls has had a great impact on my art and my whole way of thinking. It's been a fantastic experience. I hope that this program will continue for many years to come. Maybe next year the girls can come to the states!

Here are some of mine and Sunny's photos from the last day in the studio and the exhibition at Tashkeel.