Wild Clay: Open Lab by Abdulrahman Al Muftah
February 3rd - March 7th, 2023
Venue:
The majlis at Heenat Salma Farm
About the exhibition:
Abdulrahman Al Muftah is the first resident of The Heenat Salma Creative Residency.
Within his five month residency, he explored Qatari wild clay, a seemingly scarce resource in a country with a desert climate. However, with the help of the expert community he was able to find a secret source of local clay which he then used in the working process.
During his residency, Abdulrahman created a variety of products using wild clay: terra for ceramics, pigments for watercolour, clay crayons, and much more. The residency has allowed him to illustrate the ways in which clay can be used as a versatile material for making functional design objects, prints on fabric, terracotta, building material, and for creating an environment in the broadest sense of the word.
The Heenat Salma Creative Residency will present the outcome of our first artistic long-term collaboration as an open laboratory experience. We will illustrate what the soil can give us if we take the sensible approach of exploring it through archaeological practices, material study, and functional design.
About the artist:
Abdulrahman Al Muftah is a Qatari designer. He graduated from the Parsons School of Design NYC and has an MFA in Fine Arts from the Virginia Commonwealth University Qatar. In collaboration with a local clay artisan, he developed Terra, which both tackles different agriculture concerns and provides natural solutions.
About the Creative Residency
Creative Residency at Heenat Salma Farm has its own artist in residency programme that welcomes self-motivated, focused individuals working in traditional crafts and the arts. This is a 6 months residency programme for crafts with themes dedicated to traditional architecture and urbanism, agriculture, and traditional arts and crafts. The residency is an opportunity for participants to test ideas and make choices that will have a lasting effect on their work and their lives.
Resident artists may use their time to develop their studio practice, to work out the practicalities of making a living, to push technical and conceptual boundaries, or to explore entirely new directions in their work. They do so in an atmosphere of support, encouragement, and creative energy. Residents interact with other fellow residents and living at Heenat Salma Farm also gives them access to the many working craftspeople working there.
Residents must also have a clear objective for the time of their residency and be willing to live and work as part of a close-knit community. As part of the residency, participants will either give a demonstration to a class, host a studio visit, mentor a core fellow, or simply get to know students and instructors.
For more information about the Wild Clay Open Lab, please contact Rasima Isaeva for details at +974 5515 4745 or rasima@caravane.earth