Coral Alchemy I (Dipsastraea Speciosa), 2022
Cast resin, metal and thermochromic paint, 210 × 260 × 350 cm
Desert X AlUla
Coral Alchemy I (Dipsastraea Speciosa), 2022. Cast resin, metal and thermochromic paint, 210 x 260 x 350 cm. With thanks to Adam Lowe and Factum Arte, Madrid. Photography Lance Gerber. Courtesy of the artist.
Coral Alchemy I (Dipsastraea Speciosa), 2022. Cast resin, metal and thermochromic paint, 210 x 260 x 350 cm. With thanks to Adam Lowe and Factum Arte, Madrid. Photography Lance Gerber. Courtesy of the artist.
With Coral Alchemy I (Dipsastrea Speciosa) and Coral Alchemy II (Porites Columnaris) Shezad Dawood brings the ocean to the AlUla desert floor, exploring the ancient geo-biological relationship between the two landscapes.
The coral form works—inspired by two species endemic to the region, as identified through conversations with local geologist Chris Collins, marine scientists Dr. Zahra Alsaffar (NEOM), Dr. Francesca Benzoni (KAUST), and Dr. Michael Berumen (KAUST)—change colour over the course of the day, their surfaces transforming in tandem with the desert’s shifting temperatures. Alluding to the interconnectedness of the earth’s ecosystems, this subtle metamorphosis mirrors the coral bleaching that is one of the ocean’s starkest indicators of climate change, thereby enacting an alchemy that plays out the enmeshed relations between the human and the nonhuman.