Founded in 2013 in Dubai, AE
Nanu Al-Hamad * 1987 in Kuwait City, lives and works in New York, US
Abdullah Al-Mutairi * 1990 in Kuwait City, lives and works in Kuwait City
Aziz Alqatami * 1979 in Kuwait City, lives and works in Kuwait City
Barrak Alzaid * 1985 in Kuwait City, lives and works in Kuwait City
Khalid al Gharaballi * 1981 in Kuwait City, lives and works in Kuwait City
Amal Khalaf * 1982 in Singapore, lives and works in London
Fatima Al Qadiri * 1981 in Dakar, lives and works in Berlin
Monira Al Qadiri * 1983 in Dakar, lives and works in Amsterdam, NL
The ideologies, material culture, and state-corporate paradoxes of the Arab Gulf States are the focus of works produced by the collective GCC, which borrows its name from the intergovernmental organization of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Most recently GCC has looked at how “positive energy” movements, New Age practices, California start-up culture, and corporate philosophies appear in unexpected, hybrid forms in the Gulf—take the example of Dubai’s appointment of a Minister of Happiness in early 2016. The installation of GCC is a running track recalling the designated walking areas prevalent in Gulf cities. At the center a woman, clad in a version of contemporary clothing popular in the Gulf today, is performing a “Quantum Touch” on a child – a pseudoscientific form of energy healing and a gesture of self-optimization amid spectral competition.
List of works
Positive Pathways (+), 2016
Mixed media
Courtesy GCC; Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler, Berlin; Project Native Informant, London; Mitchell-Innes & Nash, NY
Commissioned and produced by Sharjah Art Foundation
Installation view of Positive Pathways (+), 2016; courtesy GCC; Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler, Berlin; Project Native Informant, London; Mitchell-Innes & Nash, NY; photo: Timo Ohler
