As blue as the abyssal depths

2022 

Acids on copper water tank installation and ropes 

Dated from 1984, this water tank stands tall in the surrounding desolate landscape of Al Faya, was once a majestic signifier of survival, settlement and security of the area. Like many structures of early modernisation, the tank aged through the years forming a vibrant coat of rustic tones that occurs when iron is exposed to air and moisture.

To honour this towering monument, Rawdha Al Ketbi exercised a ritualistic need to expose the inner layers to the outside environment, to make the hidden visible to the viewer. The artist attempts to manipulate time by reversing the past into the present to expose the layers pealed from within the core of the structure. A controlled chemical reaction of acids was used to reflect the inverse of the tank. This in turn creates traces that mark the history of the water in Al Faya area that started to form patina tones on copper.

The water, moving through the veins of the tank, is brought from the inside to the outside through the metaphoric use of ropes, becoming a memory vehicle in and of itself, witnessing the passage of time, and transforming the tank into more than an inanimate object.

Sharjah’s water towers used to be placed in residential neighborhoods, and they were referred to as “Khazzan”. As a method of water storage, they were first provided by “Chicago Bridge & Iron Company” and the main design for the water towers was ultimately realised in Sharjah between 1982 and 1985.

Location map: click here