Emirati artist Mohammed Kazem to create bespoke Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has announced the choice of leading Emirati artist Mohammed Kazem to create a commissioned sculpture for the Rolls-Royce Art Programme. The work of art will be presented in late 2016 alongside a bespoke motor car which will be inspired by the sculpture. Mohammed Kazem joins eminent artists from around the world, including Isaac Julien, Ana Maria Tavares, Morgan Wong, Carlos Rolón/Dzine, Angela Bulloch, Ugo Rondinone, Michael Zavros, Regina Silveira, and Will Cotton, who have been commissioned by the marque to create unique works of art and becomes the first Emirati to be featured in the programme.

Both the sculpture and the car are expected to demonstrate Mohammed Kazem’s interest in using latitude and longitude coordinates in his work. His fascination with collecting and documenting information about seemingly unimportant objects, by photographing them and mapping their coordinates, will be demonstrated in both works. In his practice, he uses GPS as a tool for drawing shapes and recording an item’s location.

The Art Programme’s legacy of fostering creativity, enabling artists to create new projects and to explore new areas of their practice will continue as Rolls-Royce will support Kazem, who has previously worked in the mediums of video, performance and installation, in producing a metal-based sculptural work for the first time.

Having previously visited Goodwood, the home of Rolls-Royce in West Sussex, Kazem mapped out the localities of craftspeople who worked on the car, and used these data points as a recurring motif in both designs. The sculpture, which will be made of metal, will comprise a stack of these data points melted together to form an abstract shape. The roof lining of the accompanying motor car will include a bespoke starlight headliner that will display the same coordinates as the sculpture, linking the two pieces through this unique artistic feature.

 The creation of a bespoke Wraith by Mohammed Kazem marks an exciting moment for our marque

Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars commented, “The creation of a Bespoke Rolls-Royce Wraith by artist Mohammed Kazem marks an exciting moment for our marque. To witness an artist’s interpretation of the bespoke capabilities and creative freedom afforded to our customers will no doubt provide an inspiring interpretation of true luxury.”

Mohammed Kazem, commenting on his work for the Rolls-Royce Art Programme, said, “It gives me great pride to be the first ever Emirati artist selected by such an historic and iconic brand as Rolls-Royce to be a part of their art programme. As an artist, a big part of my work is finding the right inspiration that can develop into an artistic expression, and Rolls-Royce is a brand that is full of inspiration from its rich heritage to the bespoke craftsmanship throughout its build process. We are looking forward to creating something truly memorable and unique.”

Dubai-based Kazem is acknowledged as one of the ‘Five’, an informal group of Emirati artists at the forefront of conceptual and interdisciplinary art practice

Dubai-based Kazem is acknowledged as one of the ‘Five’, an informal group of Emirati artists at the forefront of conceptual and interdisciplinary art practice. Kazem often works on simultaneous projects over extended periods of time, observing the transformations of his surroundings and the effects of time. Selected to represent the United Arab Emirates in 2013’s Venice Biennale, the artist presented an immersive video and GPS installation of his seriesDirections, in which the viewer stood at the centre of a room surrounded by a moving projection of the sea. In addition to the 2013 Venice Biennale, Kazem’s work has been prominently featured at venues around the world, including several Sharjah Biennials, the Singapore Biennial (2006), the Havana Biennial (2000), the Dhaka Biennial (2002), and at the Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, in the major survey, Arab Express (2012).

The Rolls-Royce Art Programme was founded in celebration of the marque’s commitment to creating unique and aesthetically powerful motor cars, which transcend the world of conveyance to become works of art themselves.

For more information, visit Rolls-Royce 

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