Salt-Kissed: Of Vessels That Have Sailed The Red Sea

Salt-Kissed: Of Vessels That Have Sailed The Red Sea is a collection of untold narratives anchored by the stories of eight ships that once sailed the Red Sea bearing witness to the idiosyncrasies within its swarming body. These stories narrate the Red Sea’s reciprocal relationship with its environment. Through a blend of archival materials and contemporary works, the exhibition traces ancient and contemporary trade routes, the lives of coastal communities, traditional crafts, modern influence and colonial legacies and their relationship to ecology. Using ships as vessels, Salt-Kissed ventures into themes that have shaped the Red Sea’s present, and its role in transforming both local and global histories. This exploration positions the Red Sea as an animate body in perpetual dialogue with these vessels, with the power to reject, preserve, and transform the objects that traverse it. Diverse in their endeavours, each of these journeys reveals a particular unique portrait of the Red Sea, contributing to the overarching story we seek to unveil in this exhibition; that the Red Sea is not merely a body of water but a vessel in its own right—a vessel brimming with vibrant hues, evocative scents, and echoing sounds.

Curated by Ahmed Al-Aqra and Abed Alrahman Shabaneh.

At Salt Kissed, Dawood exhibits Acropora Growth System 001 sculpture, part of Acropora Growth System series. Each element of the Acropora Growth System is individual and uniquely activated through programming that replicates the natural growth patterns of Acropora species from the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. Through these patterns each sculptural element is at the same time part of an abstract larger coral system, a wider liminal ecosystem of which it forms an intrinsic part.

Acropora Downingi is a crucial, reef-building coral species, characterised by its large colonies resembling staggered and irregular tables. The branches of this coral variety strongly converge at the colony's centre, curving slightly upwards at the edges. Occurring naturally in the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, this species has faced increasing threats to its survival in recent decades, primarily attributed to the impacts of climate change. The rise in sea temperatures has led to coral bleaching and disease, posing significant threats to Acropora colonies and other coral species in the region. In Acropora Growth System 001 the artist collaborated with 3D modeller, Irene Gaumé (Factum Arte), where they experimented with programming to simulate natural Acropora growth patterns according to an innovative AI pathway. This allowed the artist’s intention to fuse with machine learning, while also referring to the continuum of geometry between the natural world and technology. Through these simulated patterns, each sculptural element of the intended series becomes at the same time part of a speculative larger coral system: a fragment of a wider liminal structure of which it forms an intrinsic part.