“The Sleeping Muse” collaborative artwork built by 7,500 visitors at the Romanian Pavilion at the recently concluded Expo 2020 Dubai has been unveiled at the Index Mall in Dubai.
Located in Dubai International Financial Center’s luxurious retail hub, the collaborative artwork is the emirate’s first ‘One Wall’ art gallery, serving as a platform to connect up-and-coming artists and the community.
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In March this year, during the last month of Expo 2020, the artwork was jointly created by 7,500 people visiting the Romanian Pavilion, including prominent UAE figures. They included Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence; Dr. Thani bin Ahmed al-Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade; and Reem Al Hashimi, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and Managing Director of Expo 2020 Dubai.
The piece was inspired by Romanian artist Constantin Brâncuși’s iconic ‘The Sleeping Muse.’ Sharing the same name, the collaborative work is the brainchild of designer Florin Cobuz and his Nod Design Lab team, who hosted a one-month interactive workshop at the Romanian Pavilion at Expo 2020.
The workshop brought together thousands of people from all over the world to create one of the world’s largest collaborative art projects.
“[The piece] speaks to our values of bringing people together to achieve something greater than themselves. Every stick is someone’s story, their contribution forever framed in a moment,” said Magali Mouquet, executive director of Dubai-based asset management firm Equitativa, on the day of the launch, according to a media release.
“It’s the definition of building communities and we are happy to share it with everyone visiting the One Wall Gallery at Index Mall. We are committed to celebrate artists and provide a stage to show their incredible, innovative pieces,” she added.
The installation will be on display at Index Mall for 30 days and is currently up for sale.
The piece was created through an experiment which combined a number of design and crafting techniques, including 3D modelling, working with modern tools, traditional manufacturing, and programming using a custom software.
Each participant was asked to create a code that indicated the dimension and position of each piece, this was followed by manually or electrically cutting one or more wooden sticks and then attaching them to the honeycomb structure.
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