Here’s news for those of you who only thought of Dubai as a bustling metropolis that showcased the best of global landscapes, technology-aided construction and a hub for movers and shakers. A less-seen facet to the city and its inhabitants will be revealed at “Cliché in a Box?” – an exhibition that will be staged at Traffic Design Gallery from 12th- 19th June, 2008. Organised & curated by Cliché; a recently launched art zine* in Dubai, the exhibition will showcase works on an innovative medium by artists who dabble in various forms of nouveau-art. The creative team behind Cliché are Vinay Kumar & Vivek Premachandran; collaboratively working as Whitespace; a multi-faceted studio that promotes and markets brands through art and design. The Whitespace team have a diverse background and In addition to Cliché, their projects include art direction, design and illustration.
Cliché, simply put is a sheet of A1 paper that promotes urban/underground art culture in the Middle East. The zine* acts as a gallery space every month, showcasing the works of two of the best artists from the urban art scene. The zine* is non-commercial and based on a limited edition, subscription only reader availability to ensure exclusivity and movement within the art/ design scene in the region. Cliché aims to be a medium for low-brow (what others may call urban) art culture and hopes to create a parallel art scene here in the Middle East.
The Cliché exhibition will feature an amalgamation of visual, video, graphic and installation art and every inch of the gallery space will be a visual riot.
Sharing more details on the inspiration behind this event, Vinay and Vivek, said, “This project took off from a curious idea to merge a multitude of visual aspects, all translated through a standard medium. This, we felt would provide to us a wonderful sampling of random styles of art and design present in the local and international scene and cook up a visual riot of a show, which is sure to redefine how people look at clichés (sic). Think of this show as a crash course in lowbrow art. We’re quite an open-ended studio, and are always on the lookout for likeminded collaborations and conspirators - in fact this show is for anyone who has a soft corner for the arts”. This exhibition, marking the 6-monthly issue of Cliché, is a launch of artistic collaborations on the zine’s* underlying theme of urban and underground art. In the short span of its existence, Cliché has turned established notions around and created a platform for artists to collaborate and share their work. The collaboration involves 30 limited-edition presentation boxes serve as a canvas for artists to experiment with. These creative palettes will be exhibited for buyers who will also receive six back issues of Cliché and a yearly subscription along with a letter of authenticity signed by the artist. The exhibition will feature assorted collection of digital canvas prints, one-off limited edition posters, hoax installations and an eclectic mix of sound-light-video installations. In short, the Traffic Design Gallery becomes the zine* itself.
Appendix
Cliché is a monthly zine* that acts as a platform to showcase the fusion between art and space, promoting urban art in the Middle East. For more information on Cliché, please visit www.whitespace-designs.blogspot.com and www.whitespace-designs.com
*A zine (an abbreviation of the word fanzine; pronounced [ziːn], “zeen”) is most commonly a small circulation, non-commercial publication of original or appropriated texts and images.