Taking its title from a work by Simone Fattal, this exhibition brings together works focusing on the struggles and wars that occurred in the respective artists’ home countries through their exploration of artistic medium and source material.
Curated by Hoor Al Qasimi, President and Director of Sharjah Art Foundation, The Rain Forever Will be Made of Bullets includes works selected from past exhibitions or commissioned for Sharjah Biennials as well as recent acquisitions that have not been previously shown at the Foundation. Works by Etel Adnan, Simone Fattal and Lala Rukh shown previously at the Foundation are joined by a selection of newly acquired sculptures and works on paper by Chaouki Choukini.
Etel Adnan’s Arbres [Trees] (2015) and Mount Tamalpais (2015) that demonstrate her ability as a colourist, are on view along with her tapestry works commissioned for Sharjah Biennial 12. Also on view are Lala Rukh’s Sand Drawings 1–4 (2010), part of Sharjah Biennial 12, that reveal her engagement with the sea and horizon as well as her attendant philosophical preoccupations with time, infinitude and nonexistence. The Rain Forever Will be Made of Bullets examines socio-political conditions in the Middle East through works such as Zhat El Himma and Abdel Wahab (2006) by artist Simone Fattal. Based on two legendry heroes of the Sira, from an epic of the same name, widely unknown even in the Arab world, these works were part of her solo exhibition in 2016 at Sharjah Art Foundation. Chauoki Choukini’s sculptural work along with his pencil and water colour drawings are being shown for the first time at the Foundation.