Self Similar Land Art - Fahid Island | Manar Abu Dhabi

A sea of sculpted sand

We're coming off from watching a live drone show at Saadiyat Island. We drove about 21 kilometers from Saadiyat to Fahid Island, a location I actually was not aware of until the Manar Abu Dhabi Exhibitions.

As I said, it was the last night of Manar when we decided to visit the exhibits, so although I am not too confident driving at night, we still went to this second island of the night. It was fairly easy to find, thanks to Google Map and the several signages we passed by along the way.

There was about a kilometer of rough patch of road leading to the from the freeway exit to the exhibition location but it was abundantly lit and one would not lose his way from here. "Manar" in Arabic literally means light. They way they lighted this desert patch was an apt primer to what we would experience afterwards.

The bridge to our adventure

After parking at the designated area, we walked up towards this Iron Bridge. It was then that I realized that this would be a really sandy adventure.

We stepped on the powdery red sand excitedly. Err, scratch that. Let's say, "they", because at that moment, I was a bit reserved because the amount of sand that we would be bringing back to the car was already starting to haunt me.😨

Fortunately, there was a walkway along the bridge that was regularly swept by a cleaning crew. As in, his only job was to brush the sand away after someone passes by.

There were also speakers housed in a box lining the bridge that played music that would put the people into an excited/anticipatory mood.

"I can smell the sea."

Little Man commented how the air smelled of the sea, which I admittedly did not notice. My sense of smell did not really come back 100% after covid 2 years ago.

Anyway, a quick look behind us and we could see the reason why-- here's a canal/creek that passes under the bridge to the Arabian Sea.

Viewing Points

We went down the other side of the bridge and saw a vast desert. Just that. A desert. Okay... a desert with hundreds of mounds of sand.

I thought the kids would be disappointed, but they were not.

They happily skipped towards the viewing deck ahead of us.

I think it was really the sand. It gave away a happy feeling to the feet perhaps because it was so powdery soft even when wearing shoes.

We stayed there for a few minutes as we just enjoyed the cool breeze touch our faces. The night was chilly, but lovely chilly.

We could see the formation of the sand pyramids from where we were -- they were arranged in a circular manner that went from huge at the outer side, to small towards the center.

Self Similar by Jim Denevan

According to this article, this land art actually started as a humble circle drawn by the artist in the Abu Dhabi sands using a simple stick. Of course, the whole land art was completed in collaboration with other local artists already.

448 Pyramids and Mounds

The land art comprised of 19 concentric rings of 448 sand mounds. We were invited by the guides to explore around and find the center. The mounds were already just about under a meter high at this point. The highest was 27 meters (the viewing mounds).

There were over a thousand solar lights all over the place that illuminated the exhibit. It exuded a calming experience.

‘As I draw and shape these forms, an invitation is made, it emerges. An ‘entering into’ takes place. A centering. Scale, presence, human, and otherwise,’ the artist writes. ‘External is internal and internal is external. That which expires and that which is eternal, a simultaneity, within and without.’

The @divinekids from the second viewing deck. Masters of space even for just a few minutes.

Indeed, the experience was soulful to an extent. An ironic feeling one could get from "just" piles of sand.

Transformation through wind, weather, and time.

Unlike other exhibitions that could be dismounted and carried over to its next destination, this land art would stay here - its subtleness open to what its environment would bring.

There were some pyramids that already had signs of falling apart. I doubt they get "refreshed" each day.

After almost an hour, just walking around the desert. It was time to leave. The skies even opened up to sweat a bit and showered us with a drizzle. We were already in the car that time when it rained, but Self Similar stayed in place to stand this test.