Ishara Art Foundation has launched its first-ever summer exhibition, called “No Trespassing”, which is set to run until the 30th of August 2025.
H11235 (Kiran Maharjan), our anthropocene conundrum (2025)
Curated by Priyanka Mehra, the exhibition brings together six artists from the UAE and South Asia to explore the aesthetics, interventions, and contested meanings of the street within the institutional space of a gallery.
Sara Alahbabi, Prototype of For a Better Modern Something (2025)
Positioned within a white cube setting in Alserkal Avenue, No Trespassing challenges traditional notions of artistic value and spatial ownership. The works on display treat the street not merely as a backdrop but as a dynamic site of negotiation, friction and reinvention. Each artist uses the medium of the street as a form of mark-making, integrating materials such as building debris, LED lights, carbon paper, and found signage.
Khaled Esguerra, Prototype of Heritage Legacy Authentic (2025)
On entering the gallery, visitors encounter a large-scale mixed-media piece by H11235 (Kiran Maharjan), produced remotely using local materials like corrugated metal and engineered wood. The work distils architectural and bodily elements while addressing absence and dislocation.
Rami Farook, Traces in the artist’s studio, created in 2023-24
At the far end of the gallery, artist Rami Farook has cut out four square metres of wall, laying bare the internal structure of the gallery. This act is both a gesture of vulnerability and a critique of institutional authority. The extracted material has been offered as a gift to Ishara’s founder and team.
Salma Dib, Generational Wall – The Aftermath (2021)
In the second gallery, Fatspatrol (Fathima Mohiuddin) presents The World Out There, comprising scavenged urban objects marked with drawings that spill over onto the gallery walls. Adopting the persona of the flâneur, the artist reclaims and rewrites the stories of city detritus.
Fatspatrol, Detail of The World Out There (2025)
Sara Alahbabi’s installation For a Better Modern Something addresses Abu Dhabi’s evolving urban landscape. Using printed cement blocks and LED tubing, the work evokes pedestrian experience in a city structured for cars.
In the third gallery, Heritage Legacy Authentic by Khaled Esguerra critiques the redevelopment of historic districts. Visitors are invited to interact with the installation, gradually revealing hidden messaging. The surrounding walls feature layered inscriptions by Salma Dib, inspired by streetscapes of Palestine, Jordan and Syria.
No Trespassing is accompanied by a series of public and educational programmes, including virtual and in-person tours. The exhibition is supported by reframe.
