ART-PRESENTATION: Nadim Abbas-New Directions

Nadim Abbas draws his inspiration from literature, psychology and science. The artist produces heavily researched sculptural works, photography and large installations. Finding objects in places such as flea markets and dime stores Abbas allows them to infiltrate his artistry. The objects are the foundation for research and sometimes find their way into the installations, permeating the sculptures.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: UCCA Archive

For “New Directions: Nadim Abbas”, his first solo exhibition in mainland China, Abbas transforms the Long Gallery of Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) in Beijing into a single work, “The Last Vehicle” divides the space into two separate but interrelated segments: part alien landscape, part domestic living quarters. The “vehicle” in question refers to a remote-controlled rover, fitted with a prosthetic eye and wireless transmitter, which relays live footage of the foreign terrain and its solitary inhabitant back to the sedentary view of an armchair explorer. Here, the death of experience is re-enacted through the afterlife of images; multiple hallucinatory frames of reference played out in a perpetual cycle of ruin and regeneration. Following an exploration of generic landscapes and the tourist gaze in “Cataract” (2010) and “Marine Lover” (2011), Abbas went on to create immersive environments such as “Apocalypse Postponed” (2014), a collaborative post-disaster bunker/bar designed as a commission from Absolut during Art Basel Hong Kong. He took part at “Surround Audience”, the 2015 New Museum Triennial, with the works: “Chamber 664 Kubrick” (2014-15), “Chamber 665 Spielberg” (2014-15), and “Chamber 666 Coppola” (2014-15). The installations were based on themes of biological weapons and Ebola outbreaks and were made up of three biohazard chambers named after famous directors, filled with domestic objects including a bed, pillows, books, toilet rolls, and photos. Initiated in 2015, New Directions offers some of China’s most promising artists a platform to realize their first institutional solo exhibition and monographic publication, deepening UCCA’s ongoing commitment to emerging practices

Info: Curator: Guo Xi, Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA), 798 Art District, No. 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District, Beijing, Duration: 19/8-23/10/16, Days & Hours: Mon-Sun 10:00-19:00, http://ucca.org.cn