Visual Arts Alum Vikram Divecha '19 Enjoys First Survey Exhibition

Visual Arts alumnus Vikram Divecha ’19 recently had his first major survey exhibition, titled Short Circuits, at Jameel Arts Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The show retraced the Dubai-based artist’s practice since 2013. 

Divecha's work focuses on the invisible structures of planning, construction, demolition and maintenance that shape the cities of the United Arab Emirates and beyond; and the artist's process involves developing long-term collaborations with workers, contractors and decision-makers. His “playful and poetic” work, according to the exhibition pamphlet, relies on what he calls “found processes” where the artist immerses himself.

Using the materials, spaces, and labor available to him, Divecha’s projects manifested as site-specific works, public art, installations, videos, photography, and drawings.

“Vikram Divecha likes to look at how things work,” said Elena Clavarino in a short review in Air Mail. “He also likes to see how people react when things don’t work. In 2016, Divecha tampered with the predetermined routes for Sharjah’s street cleaners, so that they ended up discarding their rubbish just opposite the Art Museum, making a statement about how waste and art converge. In 2018, at Frieze New York, he took a panel from the venue tent and put it on view at a nearby gallery.”

Curated by Art Jameel’s Dawn Ross, Head of Collections, and Lucas Morin, Curator, the exhibition gathered works from the Art Jameel Collection, local and international loans, and new commissions.

“This exhibition stands as a testament to the vibrancy of Vikram Divecha’s practice which is deeply rooted in the local environment and addresses pertinent issues,” Ross said at the exhibition’s inauguration. “Divecha is a beloved figure within the UAE creative community and we are incredibly proud to be working with artists who are fast rising locally and globally and to provide structural support to bolster their visibility even further.”

Vikram Divecha is a Beirut-born artist who grew up in Mumbai and is based in the UAE. He was a participant in the Whitney Museum’s Independent Study program. His work has been exhibited regionally and internationally at the 57th Venice Biennale’s UAE National Pavilion UAE, the 13th Sharjah Biennial, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Centre of Contemporary Art (Warsaw) and The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts (New York). He currently teaches as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Art and Art History at the New York University Abu Dhabi.