Art enthusiasts and environmentalists can get ready for a first-of-its-kind virtual exhibition next week. The exhibition of paintings titled, Coastline, Community & Conservation by Joana Mollet, an Anglo-Portuguese artist based in Muscat, is being held at Bait al Baranda, Muttrah.
Joana wants to bring out the beauty of Oman at the same time take the platform to an environmental cause as the exhibition will feature a series of abstract landscapes celebrating the beauty of Oman at the same time raising awareness about beach litter.
while others are relying on impressions based on memories. Whenever we explore nature we come back with memories and these memories could be a sound, it could be the waves, the wind or the ripples on the water. I try to translate all these things into my work,” she explained.
An interesting feature of the exhibition is also the two installations made on wadi mats created by local school students.
The artist has chosen this theme for the installations as they are central to Omani Culture – the wadi mat is a place of community gathering and it is the platform through which nature is experienced.
“Using the language of the wadi mat, we hope to engage the community and get the message across. The first installation is created on a hand-woven barasati mat, inspired by the beauty of Oman’s natural landscapes. This mat represents a past when we used natural materials and the environment was rich and unspoiled. It also represents our renewed commitment to switching to the biodegradable materials, by saying no to plastic and to preserving the environment for future generations,” the artist stated.
Meanwhile, the second installation is created on a plastic wadi mat, using litter that has been collected from the beaches.
“The plastic mat symbolizes the current degradation of nature is ever poorer,” is the artist’s interpretation.
The contrasting mats draw attention to the problem of the litter and encourage the viewers to question their choices. She particularly wants to engage young people to be part of this message on conservation because it is for everybody.
The school students took part in drawing on the poster with footprint and now that initiative is open for all – outline your foot on paper and draw your message on conservation. The artwork then can be added to one’s own social media with the tag #leaveonlyfootprints.
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