This animation is a sequel to the “Automated Arabish Hybrids” piece. For this video, I placed the hybrid forms against the structures of the city of Dubai. The forms—unsurprisingly—echoed the geometric architecture of the city.
The music for this piece was created by editing “Samai Bayati (Maqam bayati)—Classical Arabic Orchestra of Aleppo & Ahmad Hariri” and mixing it with “Dex—edIT”. The idea was to create a unique hybrid sound—mixing electronic music with the Arabic Oud—that is consistent to the feel of the video.
With the influx of foreign cultures and economic globalization, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is undergoing a major identity transformation. While many feel the threat of this transformation on the Emirati identity, some use it as an inevitable process to be embraced.
I believe that the UAE is not losing its identity, it is creating a vivid new one. This new identity is Arabish. Arabish, initially known as a hybrid form of text messaging—where Latin characters are used to replace Arabic pronunciation—is now more than just that. It is a way of speaking and a way of life, especially for the mainstream Emirati youth.
As a designer, I address this emerging Arabish culture from a personal and global perspective. Graphic design is a powerful method of research and communication. I use it as a means to comment on hybrid cultural elements—dress, language, and urban landscape. It is my vehicle, helping me and others better understand the UAE identity and its emerging Arabish culture.
Since the beginning of this millennium, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) landscape witnessed an unprecedented transformation. Within just a few years, empty plots of land were built into the best, biggest, and tallest. Dubai—one of the seven emirates of the UAE—has been dubbed as the place where dreams were built on sand. In 2006, Gulfnews published an article stating that according to the organizers of the Conmex construction machinery exhibition, about 24 percent of the world’s construction cranes were operating in Dubai alone—about 30,000 of the world’s 125,000 construction cranes.
In this project, I document the dramatic transformation of the UAE’s landscape in a few years. I created a website that shows satellite images of different construction sites and how they have been transformed.
100-word statement for RISD’s Grad Book 2011:
The cultural identity of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is in a period of transformation. The country’s cultural costumes, habits, and traditions are evolving and adapting to change. This change is directly influenced by the western culture, especially the mainstream American culture.
The younger generation of Emiratis behave in a hybrid of both the American and the Emirati cultures. They speak in English and Arabic simultaneously. Their clothes have become a fusion, mixing traditional Emirati costumes with western accessories.
In my thesis, I investigate the elements of the Arabish (Arabic & English) culture of the UAE, its syntactic language, and its appearance.
Art Exhibition about language in Bahrain. It’s interesting to see what other Arab artists have to say about the Arabic language nowadays.
