Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

At 10ft wide, these wings installation is the largest in Oman

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These wings weren’t meant to fly but they took off and took social media by storm just the same. At 10ft wide, it is the largest installation of wings in Oman. Artist Ibrahim Gailani in collaboration with Crowne Plaza Muscat OCEC unveiled the painting recently and since its opening, standing in front of the installation has become a global social media trend just as the hotel wanted it — bringing the first of its scale installation that get people talking.


The concept was something both artist and hotel took time to nail down. “We knew we wanted to do wings as a statement piece simply because the property faces the reservoir wadi and is home to over 250 migrating birds, so that was the inspiration”, stated Christian Kronast, General Manager of the hotel.


For Gailani the wings titled “Freedom” are first and foremost a tribute to Mexican artist Frida Kahlo who is Gailani’s idol and has her famous words “Legs what do I need you for, when I have wings to fly” written on top.” “To me these wings were all about breaking chains, and overcoming adversity, social pressures, bullying and challenges that life throws at you,” shared Gailani. He added, “I wanted these wings to signify a freedom to choose the life of one’s full potential - living life fearlessly as you soar towards your dream.”


“I wanted to maintain my pop-art style and the entire wings are of different shimmering colors of turquoise, to gold, to green, to bronze and I purposely wanted to leave the wings undefined and ambiguous, it makes the viewer wonder: ‘is it a butterfly? or a bird?’” the artist shared. “Freedom should not come from out of box labels, but it should be a feeling from within and that was the main aim here,” he added. The wings were created over a period of live painting sessions where guest could engage with the artist and even assist in painting the piece. This is not the first time that Crowne Plaza and Gailani had partnered for art activities. The hotel has also been hosting the Gailani Art Retreat — a monthly getaway for creative souls to paint to music.


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