crossing the line 2

Crossing the Line, Drawing in the Middle East #2

‘On location’ Students of RAP and American University of Dubai/ ‘location’ dubai, langford

Crossing the Line, Drawing in the Middle East #2 Blog:

Tracing the Lineage: Deconstructing the title – "Crossing the Line: Drawing in the Middle East”Crossing the Line : What actually does this mean?

Various dictionaries say that ‘Crossing the Line ’or ‘to cross a line’ ‘is to go too far, step over the line …move into uncharted territories, cross from one location to another, or more literally physically ‘to cross a line’.

The force in the meaning propels us to think of something in a negative sense – you have ‘crossed the line’! or in a more positive sense – we are crossing the line – moving forward…we WILL go into uncharted territories….”

As artists, designers, scientists, in fact in any creative domain - we desire or aspire to/cross the line or ‘a line’ – to go further, think deeper, wider more incisively…to push against the boundaries and enlarge our understandings, locations, our knowledge, and experience as human beings.Drawing in the Middle East – Here is a twofold expression, a double entendre – it is either – ‘Drawing in the Middle East’ – a pulling inwards toward a centre or point – or a geographical location of ‘Drawing in the Middle East ‘– the title was meant to do both – a call for attention through dialogue – in this case through the visual language of drawing throughout the Middle East – and it is also a ‘count’, a type of audit of ‘drawing’ that is happening in the Middle East now – a gathering of artists, ideas, perceptions and projections.

Dr. Irene Barberis

The exhibition ‘Location’ brought together artists and designers who were either living or working in the Middle East, or who asked to choose a work related to their own ‘location’ – psychologically, physically or emotionally. Some explored physiognomy, texts related to belief, material, fluidity, geopatterning, voice and poetry, architecture, intimate spaces, drawing machines, nature, diaries, fine ink worlds, mythologies and print. These works were exhibited for the ‘Crossing the Line 2’ conference in Dubai, UAE, during September 2014 at the Jam Jar galleries, and subsequently at gallery Langford120 in Melbourne, Australia during December 2014.