Ramin Haerizadeh, Rokni Haerizadeh and Hesam Rahmanian: That Which Does Not Belong

The Arts Club Dubai is thrilled to present this installation of interdisciplinary works by UAE-based artist collective, Ramin Haerizadeh, Rokni Haerizadeh and Hesam Rahmanian. Featuring three-dimensional collages, paintings and sculptures, the exhibition exemplifies the artists’ practice, lives, and resolutely observed philosophy, offering a thorough reimagining of identity and divining meaning from many subjects and influences.

Rokni, Ramin and Hesam’s collaboration began in Iran in the late 1990s but evolved into working and living together when they moved to Dubai in 2009. Forging a collaborative practice that reconstitutes the concept of a collective, together they diverge the traditional concept of the solo artist and prefer to view artmaking as a field of negotiation where each idea is debated from different points of view. They merge their ideas and energies to create works that defy easy categorisation like sculpture or painting. Sometimes referring to themselves as a “creature with six eyes”, they view the production of art as a type of performance that requires multiple co-existing, and even clashing, perspectives to flourish. Nature is also a collaborator in their work, with the artists relinquishing control by exposing their works to the elements for extended periods, a process they see as part of the natural evolution of an artwork.

The artists show a selection of works which disrupt conventional ideas of identity and of what we commonly define as art objects. Incorporating found objects and blurring boundaries between humans and nature and between the public and private worlds, these works encourage the viewer to consider the innate interconnectivity of all things. The exhibition presents a powerful reinterpretation of icons of culture from across Western and Arabic history and raises the question of where art belongs, asserting that its place is everywhere.

The exhibition programme at The Arts Club London and Dubai is curated by Pernilla Holmes and Amelie Von Wedel of Wedel Art. Special thanks to the artists for this amazing new show.

GROUND FLOOR

That Which Does Not Belong, 2012-2014
Wallpaper, paper collage, acrylic, fake leopard skin, chain, fake leather, fake jewellery, fiberglass mannequin body parts, wood, feather, MDF, wood, printed plexiglass, toy airplane, chain and fabrics on plastic tarp
300 x 215 x 50 cm

That Which Does Not Belong, 2012-2014
Wallpaper, fake zebra skin, robber hot water bag, fibreglass mannequin body parts, wooden mask, cardboard, wooden bird nests, readymade plastic sculpture, mop and paper collage on plastic tarp, rubber boots, fake pears, fake blackberry, dried blackberry tree trunk, ceramic cups, Pepsi can, beehives, Iron, magnifying glass, book by Etel Adnan, plastered mirror, pigeon spike, plastic toys, cast-iron decorative ornaments, shells, aluminium toys, Bird nest, and Gio Ponti silver cup
190 x 410 x 25 cm

That Which Does Not Belong, 2012-2014
Wallpaper, wood, acrylic paint, fake reptile skin, print on boards, ivory frame, pills, and paper collage on plastic tarp
168 x 220 x 20 cm

That Which Does Not Belong, 2012-2014
Wallpaper, wood, acrylic paint, fake reptile skin, print on boards, ivory frame, pills, and paper collage on plastic tarp
200 x 167 x 10 cm

That Which Does Not Belong, 2012-2014
Wallpaper, fibreglass mannequin body parts, cardboard, wool shirt, fabric, readymade plastic sculpture, wire, pump oiler, and paper collage on plastic tarp
168 x 220 x 20 cm

Venus of Wellington, 2022
Fibreglass and stone powder sculpture, acrylic paint, heavy mould and plastic toy chattering teeth
1193 x 53 x 60 cm

FIRST FLOOR

Much Like Twin Rugs Linked Yet Distinct, 2023-2024
Gesso acrylic oil and collage on canvas
Diptych
Panel 1: 166 x 212 cm
Panel 2: 170 x 212 cm

Alluvium Molecular Structure, 2023-2024
Acrylic, gesso, ink, watercolour, gouache, collage and acrylic sealer on handmade terracotta plates, iron structure
Set of 13 terracotta plates
225 x 84 x 75 cm

One of the Poems from Mu›Allaqats; Collection of Seven Pre-Islamic Arabic QAsīDahs (Odes): On Her Shoulders Fallen Thick Lie the Locks of Her, Dark as the Dark Date-Clusters Hung from the Palm-Branches. See the Side-Plaits Pendant, High on the Brows of Her, Tressed in a Knot, the Caught Ones Fast with the Fallen Ones. Slim Her Waist, – a Well-Cord Scarce Has Its Slenderness. Smooth Are Her Legs as Reed-Stems Slipped at a Water-Head, 2020
Acrylic and gesso on canvas
234 x 106 cm

SECOND FLOOR

Madame Tussauds (The Nose), 2021
Collage and acrylic on printed canvas
112 x 160 cm