At the Maraya Art Centre in Sharjah, visitors will find two solo exhibitions that jointly document the adaptation or resistence to change in the experiences of ordinary individuals in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Their thoughts, feelings and actions are expressed through sound and imagery. In the microcosm of their experiences, we can find the macrocosm of global relations about development and prosperity, and who it might damage.

Organised by the centre’s curator Laura Metzler and curator-at-large Aziz Sohail from Karachi, this trans-regional organisational framework and display shows that there are connections to be found across diverse areas of this part of the world that can shed light on development and its opposition.

Arwa Al Neami offers a view into Saudi society in her series Never Never Land, evoking the thought of an ideal, imaginary place. Developed over five years, the series provides insight into the use and alteration of an amusement park in a small Saudi city. Through her documentation, the viewer will notice modifications taking place in the site over the years. The adjustments result in a shift from how a similar space might be utilised elsewhere in the world. Moving from an open recreational area to a guarded facility segregating men and women, the fun fair converts into a fortress of sorts where joy is solicited, but not really allowed to be expressed. Screams of delight, for example, are suppressed according to Saudi societal norms. During the period of documentation, curtains are added and views are blocked. The title of the current iteration of the series is ‘lef,’ meaning ‘draped’.

Two shows in Sharjah jointly document how globalisation affects urban lives in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia

The structural transformations are perhaps indicative of the adaptation of globalised systems that occur on the local level; rather than a wholesale acceptance, a shift occurs to be acceptable to the traditions of the society. This could be viewed as a utopian model for escaping the overwhelming pull of the Western ways of life. It is only a questionable show of agency since the resistance seems to be dictated by the official line.

Never Never Land sits alongside Rooms Are Never Finished. The reappearance of the term “never” in both presentations is interesting. It may open up ways to analyse progress, particularly when considering the globalised world and urban evolution. Never Never Land is the fantastical place where change does not have to happen — growing up does not have to take place because progress is not always positive. Rooms Are Never Finished suggests that development does not conclude but is a constant. There is always something that could be added or altered — ultimate satisfaction is not a possibility.

Indeed, growth and development are incessant throughout the world, as developed nations continue to boom and emergent nations hurry to catch up to the industrialised world. In Pakistan’s largest urban centre, people strive for upward mobility through building homes. Artist Yaminay Nasir Chaudhri charts the dynamic shifts that have taken place in a middle-class housing scheme in Karachi where she grew up. In the coastal development, land is a premium and usurped from the sea, as well as from public space. Like Al Neami, Chaudhri has been chronicling and continues to work on this project over time.

During the course of 30 years since the community has existed, neighbours have vied for additional space and transformed the existing structures in futile attempts to fulfill the dream of home. Meanwhile, the public space of the adjacent beach has been encroached. A haven for the working class, Seaview beach has been reduced as the community has grown. The artist feels complicit in the infringement, as she believes in the importance of a space that is open to all; yet, she also longs for it as the private site of home. Through recorded conversations, it seems that people in both zones are disturbed with what has happened over the years for various reasons, yet the dream of the future is optimistic.

As change takes place throughout the world and involves everyone, it might make us wonder why we try to stop it. In Saudi Arabia, there is a growing demand to import foreign products and lifestyles, yet, there is an opposition to them. For those in urban centres like Karachi, change has to happen as the population grows. As such, a dynamic debate is needed to investigate transformations and what they might mean. The two solo presentations at Maraya do just that.

“Rooms Are Never Finished” and “Never Never Land” are being displayed at Maraya Art Centre, Sharjah.

Published in Dawn, EOS, July 1st, 2018