Fatema Al Fardan is a multimedia artist creating photography, performance video, poetry, and sculpture. During the early months of the pandemic, Al Fardan was finishing her thesis project and preparing...
Fatema Al Fardan is a multimedia artist creating photography, performance video, poetry, and sculpture. During the early months of the pandemic, Al Fardan was finishing her thesis project and preparing to graduate from New York University Abu Dhabi. Like millions of other students around the globe, she soon found herself without a studio, at home with her family, and uncertain about what comes next. Her video, my only objective this summer is to get a tan,is dedicated to those who are occupying themselves while looking for full-time employment. In the video, Al Fardan stands in the sun, comments on the color of the sky, and grounds herself in the grass underneath her sandals. Pushing against societal and cultural norms of the postgraduate season, this video work reminds viewers to enjoy the pause and to seek beauty in the mundane.
Al Fardan is an Emirati artist living between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. She earned a dual BA in Art and Art History: Art Practice and in Economics from New York University Abu Dhabi (2020). Her body of work surrounds issues of Emirati female identity including stereotypes, minority representation and family. She has exhibited in multiple exhibitions in Abu Dhabi and New York, and won “Best Photo Associated with Sustainability” at the Abu Dhabi Parts Photography Competition (2017).