Perpetual Inventory, Volume 1: An Exercise in Looking

The Third Line, Dubai
December 2022 – January 2023
Curated by Dr. Omar Kholeif with the center of cultural confusion

A major new collaboration with artPost21—this special winter take-over curated by Dr. Omar Kholeif aka Dr. O delves into the vaults of The Third Line, presenting a constellation of artworks from The Third Line’s roster of artists that have rarely been exhibited.

A portion of the proceeds from sales will help support the cultural makers of tomorrow through a donation made to the not-for-profit, artPost21.

Perpetual Inventory was conceived by Dr. Omar Kholeif during the height of global lockdown. In this period of stillness, Kholeif spent much of their time alone in archives and storage units, in and around the UAE. The proposition of Perpetual Inventory is a summoning—a way to encourage institutions of all kinds to ‘look inwards’—to consider their own histories and cultural artifacts, and the increasing significance that they have gained over time.

 A project devised in collaboration with the not-for-profit, artPost21, a platform that explores the intersection of art, technology and social justice, Perpetual Inventory, takes place at The Third Line, one of Dubai’s first galleries of contemporary art. Renowned for supporting emerging artists, and apprising audiences of culture's overlooked polymaths, The Third Line has fostered a dynamic space for art and artists, acting as a beacon for contemporary art both in the UAE and globally. 

Perpetual Inventory, Volume 1 begins Kholeif’s project in their adopted home—in the heart of Dubai’s Alserkal Avenue. Unearthing crates and boxes—both physical and virtual, Kholeif has subtitled volume 1, An Exercise in Looking. Here, the curator weaves viewers through portals and gateways found in the landscapes of artists such as Anuar Khalifi and Fouad Elkoury through to the multi-dimensional drawing practice of the late, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian.

 From here, the viewer’s gaze is invited to shift to the present—from science fiction to everyday realities, as elucidated in the works of artists such as, Ala Ebtekar and Arwa Abouon. From here, the exhibition unfolds into various aesthetic possibilities in the photographs of the late Tarek Al-Ghoussein and Shirin Aliabadi. Memory and memorial are explored in early portraiture by figures including Youssef Nabil, Hayv Kahraman and Laleh Khorramian, while the expressive possibilities of language are deconstructed in the work of Sophia Al Maria and Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige.

The full list of artists for Perpetual Inventory, Volume 1: An Exercise in Looking is: Ala Ebtekar, Amir H. Fallah, Anuar Khalifi, Arwa Abouon, Farah Al Qasimi, Farhad Moshiri, Fouad Elkoury, Hassan Hajjaj, Hayv Kahraman, Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige, Jordan Nassar, Laleh Khorramian, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Pouran Jinchi, Shirin Aliabadi, Sophia Al Maria, Tarek Al-Ghoussein and Youssef Nabil.

Watch a video tour with Dr. Omar Kkoleif: