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class="content__text" Excited, nervous, proud to share my latest film, premiering at the Sharjah Biennial in the Khorfakkan Art Center and made with the support of the Kadist Foundation and Sharjah Art Foundation. Hope to see you at the opening on Feb 8 at 3pm. 😮‍💨🐚🏴‍☠️💚🌫️ Massively grateful to everyone who helped me realize this - and huge gratitude to @mohammadrsharaf for the stunning bilingual title design and @andrew_js for helping me make these posters in line with all my favorite 80’s horror titles. Um Al Dhabaab (Mother of Fog) addresses the myth of Al Qasimi tribe-instigated piracy in the Gulf, perpetuated by the British Empire and upheld by contemporary western academia. This narrative is contested through a fictional retelling of the 1819 siege of Al Dhayah fort and the subsequent Pax Britannica treaty that solidified Britain’s military presence in the Trucial States. Relayed across various locations and times in Ras Al Khaimah through the perspectives of an ancient jinn, the ghost of an Al Qasimi pirate, two RAK-based sisters, a Jack Sparrow Impersonator/Ship Captain, and an 1819 British naval officer, the film challenges Western-centric historiographies of the Gulf and the lingering imperialist interests at play across Asia’s modern-day trade hubs. The film also grounds this conflict of portrayal in the twenty-first century by drawing parallels to pirate-centric video games and movies in contemporary culture.

February 06, 2023