Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, ‘The Form’, 2024
The artist invokes landscape and innate cultural memory in a work in this year’s free display in The Regent’s Park
The artist invokes landscape and innate cultural memory in a work in this year’s free display in The Regent’s Park
Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, The Form, 2024
Fibreglass, resin on polystyrene over steel armature. Presented by Lawrie Shabibi
About the Work
Rooted in the desert mountain landscape of Khorfakkan, the motifs in Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim’s abstract drawings and sculptures are evocative of ancient cave art, primitive tools, bones, figures or parts of trees that appear to have been unearthed, rather than handcrafted. The Form (2024) is part of his ongoing enquiry into nature.
In his practice, Ibrahim selects colours and patterns that harmonize with the work he is creating, infusing each piece with a childlike sense of wonder and a view of the world that brims with exuberance. Yet within this playfulness, a deeper sense of contemplation and reflection emerges. Each artwork serves as a canvas for his interests in archaeology, psychology and the reinterpretation of familiar objects. By doing so, he reinvents the way we perceive and engage with our surroundings. His art comes from both his personal experiences and the kind of innate memory found in our DNA, which he describes as a ‘primitive urge’.
About the Artist
Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim (b. 1962, Khorfakkan; lives and works in Khorfakkan, UAE) is one of the pioneers of land art from the United Arab Emirates. He makes work inspired by the mountainous desert landscape of Khor Fakkan. He represented the UAE at the 2022 Venice Biennale. He also received the first prize for sculpture at the Sharjah Biennial in 1999 and 2001 and has been a member of the Emirates Fine Arts Society since 1986, founding Art Atelier at the Khorfakkan Art Centre in 1997. He has participated in artist residencies at Trans Indian Ocean Artist Exchange, Kochi Murzi Biennale, India (2016); A.i.R Dubai (2015); Le Consortium, Dijon, France (2009) and Kunstcentrum Sittard, the Netherlands (1994-1996, 1998-2000).
His works have been acquired by international collections including Sharjah Art Foundation; Sharjah Art Museum; Art Jameel Collection, Dubai; Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah; Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha; Kunstcentrum Sittard; the British Museum, London; and Le Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris.
Frieze Sculpture is in The Regent’s Park, 18 September – 27 October 2024. No booking required, free to all.
Further Information
Frieze Sculpture runs alongside Frieze London and Frieze Masters, 9 – 13 October.
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Main image: Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, The Form, 2024. Fibreglass, resin on polystyrene over steel armature. Courtesy: Lawrie Shabibi
