Language sits at the heart of Urdu Worlds, a major exhibition at Ishara Art Foundation bringing together works by Ali Kazim and the late Zarina.
Through printmaking, painting, sculpture, drawing, and installation, the exhibition considers how language carries culture, memory, migration, and ideas of home across generations and geographies.
Curated by Hammad Nasar, it is also the UAE’s first contemporary art exhibition dedicated to Urdu. The exhibition end tomorrow, making this the final opportunity to experience one of the most thoughtful shows currently on view in Dubai.
Even if you aren’t able to see it in person, scroll down and learn more about Urdu Worlds.
Enjoy,
Maan
ALI KAZIM | ZARINA
Urdu World
Ishara Art Foundation
Urdu Worlds is a conversation between two artists, brought together through a shared connection to language. The exhibition is the UAE’s first contemporary art exhibition dedicated to the Urdu language
Rather than focusing on language as a tool for communication, the exhibition explores how words shape memory, identity, and belonging
Though they come from different generations and artistic traditions, Ali Kazim and Zarina both place Urdu at the centre of their creative practice
For Zarina, Urdu became a way of carrying home across borders
The language’s script, poetry, and proverbs appear throughout her delicate print works
Her celebrated work Home is a Foreign Place transforms words associated with home, from rain and sky to fragrance and language, into visual form
Ali Kazim’s works are rooted in landscape, memory, and place
Across paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture, and video, he creates a world shaped by history and human presence
His drawings and paintings in particular are arresting and at times surreal
The details are incredible
Together, Ali Kazim and Zarina’s works invite visitors to move from words to worlds, discovering how language shapes the way we understand ourselves and each other
