Mer-chan: technocuddly, cute, arty, geeky stuff from Asia and beyond » D.C. Dubai

What is Dubai?

merchan — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 11:37:38 +0000

As we round the corner to the finish line for the Cultural Capital documentary, watch the latest tester #2 here, we see signs of technocuddly Dubai everywhere. At I.B.M.’s research labs, this Jeopardy clue befuddled the two human contestants: “Toured the Burj in this U.A.E. city. They say it’s the tallest tower in the world; looked over the ledge and lost my lunch.” But the supercomputer Watson bleeped in, “What is Dubai?” Correct! We could have helped out as the Clue Crew with our Burj video.

Tallest Tower of Mystery: Real Reason Why Burj Khalifa is Closed from Katy Mer-chan

I often ask myself as we’re editing, What is Dubai?! If only Watson could have helped me out.

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Nyah Nyah Cultural Capital Teasers

merchan — Thu, 13 May 2010 00:57:45 +0000

Teaser 1 Art Fair Montages:

Teaser 2 Animation & Censorship:
The feature length documentary Cultural Capital: Finding Art in Dubai examines the creative process in urban spaces and the socio-economic realities that challenge the sustainability of Dubai’s boom. The reality of a creative culture, like much of Dubai, is optimistic and still under construction.

Creole Dubai

merchan — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 05:05:22 +0000

He grew up in Dubai. But he’s not from Dubai. He left Dubai. Now, he’s back in Dubai. Lantian Xie’s new installation “I’ll Be Back Someday” opens this Wednesday at The Jam Jar. Xie’s work examines the continual experience of leaving, wandering, returning, and waiting. Wandering and hunger. Waiting and eating. At the end of our path waits a warm bowl of gumbo: a diasporic food dislocated from the bayou … and brought to the desert.

Drop That Zero Get with a Hero

merchan — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 05:49:41 +0000

Vanilla Ice did not start a revolution, as some have predicted (see crazy comments) that canceling the show would rouse the people of Dubai into ideological action. But our Internet was suspiciously down for ages (sorry for not posting) and we saw this this new Internet cop with a bomb when we foolishly tried to use Flickr:

We’re not sure if Vanilla Ice’s show was related to the Internet issues, but in Get Loose he raps “I raid the track like a terrorist / And with my napalm bomb lyrics,” so we really appreciate the safety precautions taken by the U.A.E. But the show did go on a few days later. And Vanilla Ice gave the audience everything they wanted: old skool. He even threw in the Ninja Rap from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2…and everyone sang along.

And of course the crowd drunk rapping of Ice Ice Baby:

Rob Van Winkle, you are a professional, and at least you’re marketing yourself. Thank you for coming to Dubai! And stay forever cool as ice.

Swiss + UAE + artists from all over

merchan — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 06:19:13 +0000

How was Vanilla Ice when he finally performed? Too cold! As if you had to ask, but full details to come. Turning our attention to more artistic pursuits, what do you get when the Swiss Art Gate goes into a UAE hospital? The Tracking the Emirates art exhibition at the RAK Hospital. The opening is in a few days on April 7th, but we thought to give you a head’s up since Katy’s in the show, and the show is in Ras al Khaimah, “the top of the tent” of the UAE, quite beautiful but a little far out from Dubai.

Dubai Heat Melts Vanilla Ice

merchan — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:33:43 +0000

We were all set for a 90’s extravaganza of Vanilla Ice and SNAP! playing here in Dubai. But a controversial sms shut down the show. Abu Dhabi’s sheikh sadly passed away, and the country is in mourning. But Barasti, the venue, told everyone: “STOP! COLLABORATE & LISTEN! VANILLA ICE AT BARASTI IS GOING AHEAD TONIGHT AS PLANNED. NORMAL OPERATION. (Contd) WE ARE NOT DRY! NICE, NICE BABY! 5PM-3AM C U ON THE SAND” This was taken as an insult, especially since it was written in all caps. Read all about the controversy in the UAE community blog. End result: police on the scene know what I mean?

Dancing in the Souk

merchan — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 08:36:00 +0000

As I lament the lack of public art in Dubai, sometimes the city surprises me and I stumble upon something even better — public performance art! While shooting Cultural Capital I caught some rather fantastic dancing, which I’ll share with you in the next few posts. For some reason, I often hear from people how joyless the region can be, and music and dancing is haram (not allowed). This video shows that public music and dancing is alive and kicking in Dubai. Near the gold souk, Chinese line dancers sashay in the shadow of the Twin Towers…only in Dubai.

Art Dubai Wrap Up

merchan — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 04:12:49 +0000

It was a buoyant, joyous time at Art Dubai, almost in defiance to the current economic situation. People were slapping each others’ backs, joking about being a shit gallery next to the toilets.

Har har nothing Duchamp hasn’t heard a zillion times already. But seriously, did anyone else find the layout strange this time? Maybe there were more decorative pieces, and the scale was smaller. The art seemed packaged and ready for buyers to hang above their sofas. Gone were the full size Chinoiserie Cadillac from last year. No more saluting monkeys sitting on pastel oil barrels either. Just commercial art beseeching “buy me!”

Since I’m hooked on phonics, say this gallery’s name: “Kamel Mennour”. Say it fast, maybe with a flat midwestern accent. At first I thought it was conceptual art, but it appears to be a legitimate gallery. I’m sure it sounds totally different in a delightful Parisian accent and I know Mer-chan means something idiotic in another language. But the sign still made me do a double take.

Digital Dubai

merchan — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:37:56 +0000

GesturoDubai: a mer-chan souvenir was performed live at yesterday’s opening of the MinD (Made in Dubai) exhibit at Ductac. The performance used the 20 most important digits (10 fingers and 10 toes) to translate memories and experiences of Dubai into repeatable gestures. The technique is known as gesturo-haptic translation and was first developed by the Factory School collective. An earlier experiment in gesturo-haptic haiku can be viewed here. You can also read the description of GestruroDubai in the MinD Catalog after the jump. Go gesture! Go Dubai!

From the MinD catalog:

GesturoDubai: A Mer-chan Souvenir offers tourists and locals alternative keepsakes of popular sights in Dubai. The GesturoDubai video teaches us to fully embody our experiences through gesturo-haptic translations. Images of well-known landmarks are juxtaposed with scripted movements that reinforce spatial memory. We translate Dubai Creeks bobbing boats and seagulls with a wave of our arms. We remember the Burj al-Arab with a puff of our chests and a pat on our bellies.

Tourism is often an endeavor of passive consumption. Sites are seen, and pictures are captured. Tourists observe a city but are not participants. We would like to propose a solution. Our gestures translate a visit to Dubai into an embodied performance. The city is fantastical and overwhelming. Why should the memory of ones visit be anything less?

Each gesture serves as a mnemonic device. They strengthen ones memory of a particular location or experience. When we string them together, the gestures unleash a string of memories: the story of explorations across Dubai. Why buy another bauble when you can dance your experiences?

Netflix for Boox

merchan — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:36:43 +0000

It’s come all the way around and stops at this: Bonusroom Books, which is like Netflix for readers. For a reasonable fee, you get Chinese language books by mail (maybe more language will be added later). Send them back and get more. It’s still in Beta test mode, so be on your toesies. We’re lucky enough to have many excellent libraries with free books of many languages, but this would be useful for people without that access. Paying for books can give them an extrinsic value and remind us how precious the printed word is. Example: we went to the Library of Congress and they have many signs reminding people that the LOC library card is not a souvenir but its use is to actually read some books!