The Earth Hives installation re-explores the artisanal craft in the region. In repurposing its use and redefining its context they facilitate varied types of human [...]

Designed by Latifa Saeed & Talin Hazbar

Latifa Saeed is an Emirati multidisciplinary conceptual artist and designer. In recent years, Saeed has worked with traditional artisanal Emirati techniques and materials, reviving them in a contemporary context. She views design as a commodity signifying modernity and a form to preserve heritage.

Hazbar’s work questions structures and materials. The designer experiments with materials to test their behaviours, challenge their properties, and recall built structures. Her works draws inspiration from the natural landscapes that surround her, while time is a tangible element in Hazbar’s structures; her work is often characterised by the freezing of a moment in time.

Thousands of years ago, people discovered that fire had the power to harden earth into a permanent form. These forms served as shelters for people with ingenious cooling systems and were used as containers for seeds, food and water.

Terracotta was in fact, one of the UAE’s first commodities. Living in the UAE inspired the designers to explore the craft of pottery, it’s geometry and it’s process on a throwing wheel as it is shaped by artisans.

The designers’ Earth Hives installation re-explores the artisanal craft in the region. In repurposing its use and redefining its context they facilitate varied types of human interaction with fired terracotta pots. The designers’ outdoor public installation features lighting system embedded within terracotta hemispheres, which present a section of a traditional clay pot expressing a peek in curvature in it’s geometry. By bridging creative disciplines, they juxtapose a primitive, delicate and fragile breed of beehive cones within Dubai’s urban landscape.

Supported by The Beach by Meraas

Through its destinations in Dubai, Meraas has built platforms that inspire creativity, showcase art from the region and make it accessible to the Residents and visitors of Dubai. It's endeavor is to make art accessible and promote a culture for its appreciation.


The Beach, JBR