September 27, 2021
ENOC, the Official Integrated Energy Partner of Expo 2020 Dubai, has joined hands with Tashkeel, the Dubai-based multidisciplinary art and design organisation, to manifest the Group’s participation theme ‘Reimagine Energy’ in art that speaks to the World’s Greatest Show’s visitors.
This collaboration saw two leading artists, Wissam Shawkat and eL Seed, create breathtaking public artworks reflecting ‘Reimagine Energy’ on the exterior of ENOC’s spectacular pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.
Her Highness Sheikha Lateefa bint Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Founder and Director of Tashkeel said: “Fifty years of innovation and creativity have brought the UAE to where it stands today – a world leader driven by a multicultural society rooted in the traditions and values of the people of this land. As we look ahead, the energy of imagination shall fuel our futures; uniting ambition and vision so that we may strive beyond the boundaries of possibility. Artists empower societies with the drive and direction to pursue their passion. I am pleased that the partnership between Tashkeel and ENOC has led to two of the leading artists in contemporary Arabic script – Wissam Shawkat and eL Seed – creating profoundly meaningful as well as ambitious works that bear testament to the power of art and its innate ability to allow us to see the unseen and imagine the impossible.”
His Excellency Saif Humaid Al Falasi, Group CEO, ENOC, said: “As a wholly-owned entity of the Government of Dubai and the Official Integrated Energy Partner of Expo 2020 Dubai, we are proud to collaborate with a globally renowned art and design entity such as Tashkeel. Our aim from this project is to engage Expo 2020 Dubai’s visitors in the conversation around the future of energy in an approachable and creative way; while celebrating and supporting outstanding talent from the UAE and the broader Arab world.”
The architectural theme of ENOC’s pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai draws on the design of oil storage tanks with five distinctive structures, including four ‘houses’ taking visitors on an unprecedented multi-sensory journey through four distinctive narratives: Discover – what energy is; Harness – what energy enables; Connect– what energy needs; and Reimagine – what energy promises.
eL Seed, the globally renowned artist, whose practice crosses the disciplines of painting and sculpture, has designed a vertical gallery infused with his signature Arabic script, displaying a reimagination of energy and reflecting French writer Stendhal’s famous quote “Love is the miracle of civilisations” on the façade of House 4.
Inspired by ENOC’s participation theme of “Reimagine Energy”, award-winning calligrapher, artist and designer Wissam Shawkat used the balustrade of House 3 as a platform to connect with the visitors of ENOC’s pavilion through a thought-provoking masterpiece that seeks to inform and inspire visitors from around the world, engaging them with the vitality and dynamism of modern Arabic lettering.
Taking visitors on an immersive journey that explains the role of energy in our past, present and future, ENOC’s pavilion will open up new horizons for triggering conversation around the evolution of the energy sector. A tour of the pavilion will offer visitors 15 minutes of unprecedented experiences that draw on the many facets of the overarching theme, ‘Reimagine Energy.’