MOHAMMED KAZEM
b. 1969, United Arab EmiratesMohammed Kazem (b. Dubai, 1969) has developed an artistic practice that encompasses video, photography and performance to find new ways of apprehending his environment and experiences. The foundations of his work are informed by his training as a musician, and Kazem is deeply engaged with developing processes that can render transient phenomena, such as sound and light, in tangible terms. Often positioning himself within his work, Kazem responds to geographical location, materiality and the elements as a means to assert his subjectivity, particularly in relation to the rapid pace of modernisation in the Emirates since the country’s founding.
Kazem was a member of the Emirates Fine Arts Society early in his career and is acknowledged as one of the ‘Five’, an informal group of Emirati artists - including Hassan Sharif and Abdullah Al Saadi - at the vanguard of conceptual and interdisciplinary art practice. In 2012, Kazem studied his Masters in Fine Art at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia. He has participated in the Annual Exhibition of the Emirates Fine Arts Society in Sharjah since 1986 until recently, as well as numerous editions of Sharjah Biennial, obtaining first prize for installation in 1999 and 2003. In 2007, Kazem was invited to co-curate the Sharjah Biennial. In recent years, Kazem has participated in group shows at the Mori Art Museum, Japan (2012); Boghossian Foundation, Belgium (2013); the Gwangju Museum of Art (2014); and the 2014 edition of Fotofest in Houston. He has exhibited twice at the Venice Biennale; firstly in 2009 as part of a group exhibition curated by Catherine David, and in 2013 Kazem represented the country with an immersive video installation entitled ‘Walking on Water’, curated by Reem Fadda. His works are held in the collections of, amongst others, the British Museum, London; Guggenheim Abu Dhabi; Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha; Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing; and Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah.
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