Fading Facades

In an effort to develop and implement a modern water-supply system in Kuwait, the Swedish company VBB (Sweco) began constructing the water towers in February 1970. The 31 water towers consist of different heights and colors. Their mushroom shape was designed to help provide shade to what was intended to be public gardens underneath. The design of the water towers, as well as the Kuwait Towers, received the Aga Khan Prize for Islamic Architecture in 1980 (source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture).

I took pictures of the water towers in 1985. These towers were originally gray and white before they were painted with stripes of white and blue and became the iconic water towers we know today. In this series, I reprinted the images using the anthotype method—a photographic printing process that uses emulsions made from the extracts of light-sensitive plants, such as flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Because of the photosensitivity of this method, the image may fade if it’s not protected from direct light. This style of printing mirrors the precariousness of most historical buildings in Kuwait, which are unfortunately likely to face demolition or changes to their original facades.

Artist: Huda Al Abdulmughni | Medium: Anthotype prints

For price inquiries, please contact the designer.

Constructed Threads

On a Sadu piece, a weaver, inspired by her encompassing desert environment, intricately weaves repetitive patterns. Amidst these continuous lines, occasional visual breaks emerge where she skillfully integrates new designs—symbols like stars, rice grains, or observed flora. A Sadu weave is a testament to a preserved cultural identity as well as a land’s topography.

However, within the fabric's weave, one sees more than skill; one can discern the weaver's thought process and personality, and her relationship with her environment. The role of a woman extended beyond her picturesque weavings; she constructed her family’s tent, ensuring it was stable and able to withstand their environment’s unpredictable weather. In fact, when a family’s tent weakened and started to deteriorate, losing its structural integrity, this signified the absence of a woman, the family’s main caregiver. While the man in the desert was the breadwinner, his role was limited to supporting his family financially. The woman, on the other hand, embodied emotional, social, and educational support.

In this artwork, we contemplate the role of women in our societies today given their pivotal role in the desert—as builders of homes, nurturers of families, and keepers of culture. Their contributions were indispensable, forming the foundation of their communities. Comparing this to today, we explore whether women's roles have diminished or transformed, highlighting their enduring legacy of strength and resilience in shaping our society.

"Hanbaliya," a symbol in Sadu, means a meticulous weaver. While in Arabic slang it means a strict person, the name is derived from a follower of the Hanbali school, a strict traditionalist school of jurisprudence in Islam. (Source: Dr. Zainab Al Ibrahim, Masters of Arts, Textile Printing)

Designers: Manal AlMaimouni & Nawar N. Al-Kazemi | Medium: Handwoven piece on a scaffold using locally sourced natural yarn.

For price inquiries, please contact the designers.

BOT (Build. Operate. Tarnish)

This artwork is a continuation of Mishari’s ongoing research and documentation of Kuwait City’s Modernist Souks. BOT depicts Souk AlWataniya, built during the late 1970s. Three layers of patchwork textiles, block prints, and embroidery depict three elevations of the building. The front layer shows the main elevation facing Abdulla AlSalem Street, while the second and third layers depict hidden elevations within the building’s colonnade and upper office block.

The artwork’s title, BOT (Build. Operate. Tarnish), is a play on the actual BOT (Build, Operate, Transfer) system used in handling public land parcels, where private owners are allowed to build and operate structures on them for a given amount of time before transferring ownership back to the country. This method of operation, even though it incentivizes private development in the city, introduces an issue where structures are usually left with little to no maintenance as the ownership is due to be given away.

Some developers are allowed to extend the duration of operation should they renovate the buildings. This also raises another challenge in preservation, especially for structures built during the rapid modernization of Kuwait City. The three layers of this tapestry depict the building’s facades and the haphazard renovations and changes implemented by tenants and owners up to the most recent renovation in September 2023.

Designer: Mishari AlNajjar | Medium: patchwork tapestry

For price inquiries, please contact the designer.

Arfaj

The animation by Ahmed AlHouli, explores the eytmology and symbolism of Arfaj, Kuwait’s national flower. Through his study of botanical specimens and the shared memories of flower connoisseurs, Ahmed brings his unique interpretation of the yellow-speckled Arfaj flower to life. While seldom celebrated locally, Arfaj, Kuwait’s national flower, holds a profound significance for its resilience and cultural symbolism. 'The name Arfaj is ambiguous; it was a term coined by bedouins with no context,' explained Farhan AlFarhan, a researcher and historian specializing in the history of Kuwait. This is when Ahmed decided to unveil the meaning of Arfaj through semantics, extending beyond the borders of botany. Arfaj, having survived the environmental challenges of the Gulf War, embodies a story of endurance and survival specific to Kuwait's history, solidifying its status as Kuwait’s national flower.

Ahmed's advocacy for Arfaj as a symbol of hope and resilience illustrates the importance of embracing indigenous symbols over adopting foreign ones, such as the yellow ribbon for Kuwait’s prisoners of war. This promotes cultural sovereignty and empowers Kuwaitis to shape their narrative for a more accurate national unity and identity.

Medium: Digital, Colored pencils. | Designer: Ahmad Al Houli

For price inquiries, please contact the designer.

Where Are You At, Oh Sea?

Kuwait, 2094. I’m in my thirties, and I stand in line to see the sea of my city, where I have lived my whole life, for the first time. Standing in line, I wonder, why do we queue for a glimpse of the sea we once lived beside?

In contemplation, Maha presents ink drawings narrating Kuwait's historical bond with the Arabian Gulf. The story began before oil, when the sea directly shaped our identity and society spatially, socially, and economically. Then came the emergence of the oil industry in the 1950s, which led to modern city developments, burying much of the coastline for the Gulf road and the construction of the waterfront project. This distanced us from the sea, reducing it to a mere backdrop of modernity. During this time, we sought accessible, untouched lands with sea views, enjoying beach moments. And in the 1990s, the Iraqi invasion caused its water to get heavily polluted, halting all seaside projects.

In attempts to revive the sea, huge commercial complexes were built on its shores, making us turn our backs to its waves in order to enter these buildings. Over the years, we moved further away, forgetting the sea existed as it became inaccessible. Eventually, seeing the sea required crossing buried shores and standing in long lines to enter commercial buildings. The sea, once a core identity, turned into complete alienation.

Artist: Maha Al Shimmery |  Medium: Ink on paper

For price inquiries, please contact the designer,

Interstices 

The language of placemaking in the GCC has always been deeply intertwined with the need to rapidly urbanise, indirectly creating a design language in the built environment. With the advent of modular and prefabricated design, replicable systems and methods were imported during early stages of nation-building as a means to rationalize terrain and large public spaces. This approach has had a ripple effect in the way our city appears and behaves today. 

One of these proliferating modular systems can be found across the majority of Kuwait City’s shoreline: the ubiquitous concrete blocks spanning kilometers with only brief interruptions. Interstices looks into the byproducts of modularity - such as the repeated 13cm interstitial spaces (gaps) and duplicate dimensions of these blocks - as an opportunity and potential grounds to reimagining this relationship as something more than a demarcation of land and sea. It also poses a question that challenges the current cycle of demolishing to rebuild, where few built layers have been retained in the process of urbanization. 

Designer: Hamad AlMuzaini | Medium: Mixed media, gypsum, and film

For price inquiries, please contact the designer.