MACHAS

Tooco and Kaz Shirane at the Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival

Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival gathers artists from all around the world to advance the dialogue between cultures, and two Machas’ artists, Argentinian Tooco and Japanese Kaz Shirane were invited to explore this edition’s theme” Prospect”.

Tooco exhibited “This is a pencil drawing”, a multimedia piece in which a 10 centimetres pencil arabesque is nestled into a grand frame of intertwined wood, metal and mirror shapes. Tooco wanted to inspire a dialogue with the viewers and bring them to question, in his own words, “where the actual artistic value lies? Is it in the 6 x 2 meters tall frame or in the small artwork? Or is the artist’s work just a decor around the traditional Islamic pattern?”

Japanese artist Kaz Shirane is an habitué of the festival and returned to Sharjah for the third time to present a new immersive installation, Pray / Play.

With its imposing 5.5 metres diameter, 6 metres height and golden surface, Pray / Play cuts a striking impression on Al Majaz Water Front. Inspired by mosques and the geometrical precision of Islamic patterns, the installation is a multi-sensorial experience: in collaboration with Japanese musician Kaito Sakuma, Kaz transformed the kaleidoscopic installation into a life-sized instrument, that vibrates and connects the spectator to the world’s religious chants.

Pray / Play is designed to embody the essence of a dedicated space to prayer and playfulness, two fundamental moments where human connection happens while providing a sensorial reflection on the festival’s theme.

“It seems to me,” reflect Kaz, “that people often form a strong judgment based only on biased information, and have forgotten to look at things critically. It would not be a stretch to say that I am trying to express this and warn people about it, through my installation.”

The festival ran from the 12th of November 2019 until the 21st of January 2020, but it is still possible to see Shirane’s Pray / Play in the city of Khor Fakkan, UAE, until 22nd February 2020.

See more of Tooco’s and Shirane’s work here and here.