"Ybna Al3eid" Publication

The official publication for the exhibition "Ybna Al3eid" (YA3), hosted at Bayt AlMamzar, 2022, and curated by Talal Al Najjar and Salem AlSuwaidi.

YA3 considers the works of fourteen socio-politically-creative artists that explore themes of Arabian decolonization, bodily deviation, child-like liberation, and anthropological investigations. The publication then intertwines seven additional writers curated and edited by the exhibition organizers.

Included in the publication is also access to the media pieces throughout the show. The curators of the show have both also contributed their own written pieces, as well as some special collages.

These written and visual works are the complete psychosis of trying, and failing, to construct an image of supposed youthfulness. It is rebellion not for action, but for existence.
This is a Limited Edition, Paperback publication, printed in Dubai, UAE, 2023. Designed by Saba Sayfaiee (@78ss).

Curatorial Statement:

“Ybna Al3eid” is a Gulf Arabic phrase roughly meaning taking the cake, or rather, bringing it in the first place. Translated literally as “we brought [the] Eid,” it is when actions turn into a foolish spectacle, humiliation, and/or dire consequences, i.e. partaking in activities uncustomary to Gulf cultures, hiding realities, or twisting familial mythologies.

It is a phrase indulging in the forbidden fruits of mischief and scandal–a humor-infused phrase, yet harboring a sinister undertone. Named after this colloquial term, this exhibition pokes fun at these ideas, engaging them critically and satirically.

Contributors: Gaith Abdulla - Aya Afaneh - Sarah Afaneh - Ahed - Aliyah Alawadhi - Majed Albanna - Ali AlHosani - Saeed Almadani - Rashed Almulla - Annelid Archive - Abdullah Al Kindi - Mariam AlMheiri - Zuhoor AlSayegh - Firas Darwish - Bint Froot - Huda Jamal - Ghalia Khalid - Shebi Niazi - Andrew Riad - Malavika S - Vivi Zhu