Idris Khan talks to The National about creating the award-winning UAE memorial Wahat Al Karama
By Melissa Gronlund
Opposite Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, a series of heavy grey slabs lean against each other, as if arrested in the process of falling. Some appear to be supporting the weight of others; others seem simply caught, mid-descent.
The work is a memorial to the UAE’s martyred soldiers, titled Wahat Al Karama, or “Oasis of Dignity”, by British artist Idris Khan. It opened to popular acclaim in the UAE two years ago, and has been winning critical awards since.
Over the summer, the German Design Council announced the memorial had won one of their Iconic Awards for architecture. This was followed a few days ago by the CODAworx design and art award, which recognises, in the words of one of its jurors, how the project calls “our minds, souls and bodies to respond simultaneously”.
Image: Idris Khan, Wahat Al Karama, 2016
Photography: Victor Besa / The National
- Doug Aitken
- Njideka Akunyili Crosby
- Milton Avery
- Jules de Balincourt
- Ali Banisadr
- Hernan Bas
- María Berrío
- Varda Caivano
- Verne Dawson
- Stan Douglas
- Elmgreen & Dragset
- Inka Essenhigh
- Ian Hamilton Finlay
- Barnaby Furnas
- David Harrison
- NS Harsha
- Alex Hartley
- Secundino Hernández
- Ilse D’Hollander
- Christian Holstad
- Kudzanai-Violet Hwami
- Chantal Joffe
- Isaac Julien
- Idris Khan
- Yayoi Kusama
- John Kørner
- Doron Langberg
- Wangechi Mutu
- Alice Neel
- Maria Nepomuceno
- Chris Ofili
- Jorge Pardo
- Celia Paul
- Grayson Perry
- Paula Rego
- Tal R
- Conrad Shawcross
- Hedda Sterne
- Do Ho Suh
- Sarah Sze
- Adriana Varejão
- Suling Wang
- Stephen Willats
- Flora Yukhnovich
- Doug Aitken
- Njideka Akunyili Crosby
- Milton Avery
- Jules de Balincourt
- Ali Banisadr
- Hernan Bas
- María Berrío
- Varda Caivano
- Verne Dawson
- Stan Douglas
- Elmgreen & Dragset
- Inka Essenhigh
- Ian Hamilton Finlay
- Barnaby Furnas
- David Harrison
- NS Harsha
- Alex Hartley
- Secundino Hernández
- Ilse D’Hollander
- Christian Holstad
- Kudzanai-Violet Hwami
- Chantal Joffe
- Isaac Julien
- Idris Khan
- Yayoi Kusama
- John Kørner
- Doron Langberg
- Wangechi Mutu
- Alice Neel
- Maria Nepomuceno
- Chris Ofili
- Jorge Pardo
- Celia Paul
- Grayson Perry
- Paula Rego
- Tal R
- Conrad Shawcross
- Hedda Sterne
- Do Ho Suh
- Sarah Sze
- Adriana Varejão
- Suling Wang
- Stephen Willats
- Flora Yukhnovich
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