NPUAE 2018
Venice Biennale, 2018
Curator: Dr. Khaled Alawadi
Client: Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation
Organization: National Pavilion United Arab Emirates
Director: Laila Binbrek
Coordinator: Farah El-Rafei
Photos and Videos: Mohamed Somji, courtesy National Pavilion UAE
Contractor: Tosetto Allestimenti
Lighting: iGuzzini
Surface: 250sm
A tall, full-height mesh runs along the perimeter of the Pavilion, visually defining its boundaries. This semi-transparent enclosure is intended to evoke the concept of “bigness”—a central theme articulated by the curator and presented in the 2018 National Pavilion UAE.
As visitors enter the Pavilion, they metaphorically reconstruct the idea or shape of a vast, ephemeral volume, formed by the interplay of two overlapping mesh layers. Beyond this threshold, they encounter the core curatorial content.
The Pavilion’s spatial organization is defined by two offset, C-shaped enclosures. This layout generates two buffer zones at the entrances and frames a large, open central area. At the heart of the space lies the main installation: a suspended mosaic of architectural models, floating within the void and offering a powerful focal point for the exhibition.
