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DUBAI: The Syrian artist discusses her 2021 plexiglass work, on view at her solo show “Rose Tinted,” which runs until July 8 at The Third Line in Dubai.
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“Rose Tinted” is looking at expectations and how they shape human perception. I’m really interested in expectation itself and the impact it has on how one sees. The actual images and landscapes that I adopt use utopic forms.
There’s a misalignment to the images and the forms themselves — the outer rim and the content within it that tries to talk about this tension between the ideal and the real, or the expectation of something and its reality.
I didn’t want to only refer to the ‘rose-tinted’ view, but that we all have different shades and tints on at the same time: We have cynicism, we have optimism… and we have filters. I think that’s the point I wanted to make: We’re constantly seeing the world through various lenses. The rose-tinted one hinders us almost as much as the darker ones.
Her solo show “Rose Tinted” runs until July 8. (Supplied)
“Window Scene” is the only piece that’s actually realistic size-wise. I looked at a plane window’s dimensions and made my quick drawing of the window. I resized it — that felt important to me.
There’s a kind of realism in something that’s very much not real, in the sense that the piece’s bottom image, which is supposed to be this sunset with clouds, is actually the edge of a photographic negative that hasn’t been exposed properly.
So, in some ways, you’re looking at a failure of something. Kant had this idea that objects depend on the subject’s knowledge of them to exist. We’re always seeing through the projections of our own expectations and the failures of those expectations.
In terms of process, I made the drawing of the window and then translated it into a digital illustration for laser-cutting in both plexiglass and wood. All of the images are my own, and are analog. I go through various combinations of images and see which work best together. After I print the image, I cut it to shape the form and then I bind it with screws.
It’s very romantic when you’re staring out of a window. You’re given time and space to be concerned about something that you’re usually not. It’s kind of nostalgic. It’s a moment where you’re tapping into romanticism and idealism.
LOS ANGELES: Pop princess Britney Spears and her US-Iranian Sam Asghari partner’s wedding was interrupted Thursday when her ex-husband gatecrashed the party, US media reported.
Spears and Asghari were readying to wed at her luxury pad near Los Angeles when the proceedings were interrupted, Variety and other trade media said.
Jason Alexander, a childhood friend to whom the 40-year-old singer was very briefly married in 2004, crashed the sun-soaked event, sparking a police response.
Alexander apparently livestreamed his invasion on Instagram, with footage showing him telling a security guard he had been invited.
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“Where’s Britney?” he can be heard saying.
Later as he walks into a pink tent festooned with flowers, he identifies himself and says: “So here’s the inside scoop, guys, on the bullshit wedding.”
Entertainment website TMZ said a physical confrontation ensued and the police were called.
Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said officers were called to investigate reports of someone trespassing and found that Alexander had an outstanding warrant against him from another jurisdiction, so they arrested him, Variety reported.
AFP was not immediately able to confirm the report.
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Spears’ wedding to Asghari was not widely trailed, with news of the nuptials appearing on specialist publications only hours earlier.
The couple said last month that the surprise pregnancy they had announced only weeks before had ended in a miscarriage.
That news came five months after a Los Angeles judge dissolved a conservatorship long overseen by Spears’s father – an arrangement the singer said had prevented her from having a contraceptive IUD removed despite her desire for more children.
She is already mother to two teen sons, Sean and Jayden, with her ex-husband Kevin Federline.
Asghari and Spears met in 2016 when they co-starred in a music video for her single “Slumber Party.”
After announcing their engagement late last year, Spears has since started referring to her 28-year-old partner as her “husband.”
At the time Spears announced she was pregnant, Asghari said in a separate Instagram post that “fatherhood is something i have always looked forward to and i don't take lightly. It is the most important job i will ever do.”
The major blockbuster from the Marvel Cinematic Universe this summer is “Thor: Love and Thunder,” (July 8). Taika Waititi is back behind the camera for a direct sequel to 2017’s “Thor: Ragnarok.” Thor takes on a new adversary, Goor the God Butcher — played by Christian Bale; a character that looks to have more than a hint of Lord Voldemort from the “Harry Potter” movies about him. Thor is also reunited with an old flame, Jane Foster, who now wields a reconstructed version of Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor. The “Guardians of the Galaxy” crew also make an appearance.
In terms of box-office, Marvel’s closest challenger might come from another Disney subsidiary, Pixar. The animation studio’s “Lightyear” (June 17) tells the origin story of Buzz Lightyear from the “Toy Story” movies. It’s a shameless cash-in, like the “Star Wars” spin-offs, but the “Toy Story” team have barely put a foot wrong over four movies now, so we’re still definitely going to watch it.
For action fans, comedy thriller “Bullet Train” (August 5), in which Brad Pitt stars as Ladybug, an accomplished assassin trying to change his ways, looks like a must-see. He’s tasked with lifting a briefcase from a bullet train heading to Kyoto from Tokyo. Things get tricky when he discovers that his fellow passengers include several competing assassins all with connecting objectives.
Netflix’s big contender, meanwhile, is “The Gray Man” (July 15). With a $200 million budget, it’s the streaming giant’s most expensive film yet, and has the pedigree to match. Brothers Anthony and Joseph Russo direct (their CV includes four MCU movies) Ryan Gosling as Court Gentry — a deadly mercenary who works with the CIA. But when he discovers some secrets the agency would prefer to keep hidden, he becomes a target for numerous hitmen himself, including his psychotic former colleague Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans, clearly relishing a villainous role after years as that most vanilla of superheroes, Captain America).
Horror fans will be looking forward “The Black Phone” (June 24), in which Ethan Hawke plays a serial killer snatching children in a small town. His sixth victim discovers a phone in his room, through which he can hear the voices of the killer’s previous victims. Then there’s the latest from Jordan Peale’s twisted mind, “Nope” (July 22). Details have been kept closely guarded, but we know it’s a sci-fi crossover in which residents of an isolated town are traumatized by the presence of a UFO.
Other summer movie highlights include Elvis Presley biopic “Elvis” (June 24); “The Man From Toronto” (August 12), an action-comedy starring Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson; and “Three Thousand Years of Longing” (August 21) in which Tilda Swinton plays a scholar who encounters a Djinn (Idris Elba) in Istanbul. The great George Miller (the “Mad Max” franchise) directs.
Since “Game of Thrones” ended, fantasy fans have had little to be excited about. But this summer might change that. First up is the long-awaited “GoT” prequel series, “House of the Dragon” (August 21 on HBO, and presumably OSN regionally). Based on George R.R. Martin’s 2018 novel “Fire and Blood,” the series — co-created by Martin — tells the story of the fall of House Targaryen.
Perhaps the only fantasy writer with similar pop-culture cachet to Martin is the late J.R.R. Tolkien. So fans really are spoiled for choice this year with the launch of Amazon’s “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” in September. Developed in cooperation with the author’s estate, the show is set in the Second Age of Middle Earth — millennia before the events of “The Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings” — and covers the forging of the Rings of Power and the rise of Sauron.
Returning shows worth checking out include season two of whip-smart mystery-comedy “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu, June 28), season three of Netflix’s quirky superhero series “The Umbrella Academy” (June 22), the fourth season of the dystopian sci-fi Western “Westworld” (HBO, June 22), and the second season of the understated comedy drama about Native American teenagers “Reservation Dogs” (August 3).
And there are several new shows we’re eager to catch — top of the list being Kuwait-born Palestinian-American comedian Mo Amer’s Netflix sitcom “Mo” (August 24), in which Amer plays Mo Najjar, a Palestinian refugee in Texas who’s unable to access healthcare or keep a job for long because of his immigration status — despite having spent the majority of his life in the US.
Elsewhere, we’re intrigued by Disney+’s “She-Hulk: Attorney-at-law” (August 17), which stars Tatiana Maslany (“Orphan Black”) in the title role; Hulu’s “The Patient” (August 30) starring Steve Carrell as a therapist treating a serial killer; and “Loot” (Apple TV+, June 24), a comedy starring Maya Rudolph as a billionaire brought into the media spotlight by her husband’s infidelity, who decides to get heavily involved with her charity foundation (a foundation she previously knew next-to-nothing about).
It doesn’t seem like 2022 will be a vintage summer for gamers. In a fairly sparse field, there are a few titles worth looking out for, though. For a start, the brilliant indie run-and-gun shooter “Cuphead” has a DLC add-on adventure “The Delicious Last Course” coming June 30, offering more surrealist antics for the titular ‘hero,’ charged with repossessing souls owed to the devil after himself losing big at the devil’s casino. Speaking of returns for beloved characters, “Sonic Origins” (June 23) is a remaster (with some additional missions) of the first four games in the “Sonic the Hedgehog” franchise — offering a trip down memory lane for veterans, and a meaty chunk of throwback goodness for new fans drawn in by the recent movies. That whole “media synergy” thing will also be on show in September, when “The Lord of the Rings: Gollum” is released the day before Amazon’s super-expensive TV series. The action-adventure follows the adventures of the twisted ring-carrier prior to the events of “The Hobbit.”
We’ve been looking forward to the long-delayed “Stray” for a while, and it’s finally going to appear on July 19. It’s a third-person adventure game in which you play as a cat who has to navigate a dystopian world of machines and viruses in order to return to your family.
Other noteworthy releases include survival horror “Fobia: St. Dinfna Hotel” (June 30); “Xenoblade Chronicles 3” (July 29), the latest installment of the Nintendo Switch RPG; Square Enix’s co-op shooter “Outriders: Worldslayer” (June 30); and — for gearheads — EA Sports’ “F1 22” (July 1).
DUBAI: Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor never thought they would be reunited on a “Star Wars” set. The prequel films they’d given their all to garnered a mixed reception and, as far as they knew, the story of Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker had been told. They had no reason to suspect how much time could change things, nor how much a new generation of fans would revere them like the previous generation had Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford. Now, as the two reunite for “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” a limited series coming to Disney+, the cheers for both are louder than ever.
“It’s just been so heartwarming,” Christensen tells Arab News. “I can’t really tell you what it means to me. It’s a really neat thing. I don’t know that I can really define it. But you know, I guess the moral of the story is patience.”
Christensen, who returns as Darth Vader 10 years after the events of “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” saw his Anakin Skywalker surrender to the dark side, has been away from the Star Wars universe, but he never let go of the character nor the world. He saw the love that came his way as the younger fans they had made the films for grew up, and it meant the world to him. His quiet dream was always to play Darth Vader again.
“I’ve just really enjoyed getting to come back and further my journey with this character. Like me, he's at a different time in his life, too. When I was doing the prequels, it was very specific to Anakin Skywalker, and now coming back and getting to really explore the character of Darth Vader is such a cool thing,” Christensen continues.
For McGregor, who plays the title role — one of pop-culture’s most-beloved characters, first made famous by Sir Alec Guinness — reuniting with Christensen was a joy.
“When we were acting together, it was really like some sort of time warp,” he says. “Just looking across at him on set was like the last 17 years didn’t happen at all.”
While the George-Lucas helmed trilogy they starred in together 20 years ago employed some groundbreaking technology, McGregor is particularly excited — and relieved — that they are returning to the “Star Wars” universe at a time when digital cameras and stage technology have advanced considerably from what they were working with at the turn of the millennium, when green screens became the bane of many actors’ existence.
“It’s night and day, really,” he says. “On Episode II, those cameras were like dinosaurs. They were so noisy that after we finished filming, they realized you could hear the buzz in every scene. We had to dub every single line of Episode II after the fact. None of the original dialogue made it through!
“George was pioneering all of that technology. He was pioneering sound and image as he was pioneering the cameras and the visual effects. He wanted to utilize it as much as he could. But for us, it meant that, more and more, we were on a blue screen or a green screen and that's challenging for the actors, for sure,” McGregor continues.
On “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” green screens have been mostly replaced with the latest in stage craft LCD technology, which allows sets to be fully projected around the actors during filming.
“I love this new technology,” says the show’s director Deborah Chow. “It's so exciting, and it’s so interesting to design for it. I think one of the most beneficial things for the actors is that they get the environment around them, and they don't have to act opposite tennis balls and green screens. I think it really helps with the reality for everyone.”
For Chow, pioneering new tech for the series is a beautiful homage to Lucas’ astounding legacy, both as a filmmaker and a digital visionary.
“It seems very fitting that when we're telling this story, which is so connected to the prequels, we're doing it again with a different technology, much of which had its way paved by George himself to tell the story,” she continues.
It’s not just new tech that has joined the set, but new characters, including The Third Sister played by Moses Ingram, the series’ third lead. For Ingram, watching the journey that McGregor and Christensen have gone through has shown her that her own journey, both in front of and behind the camera, is just beginning.
“Ewan and Hayden laid the foundation for this world and have been really great about welcoming me into the fold. And it's been interesting listening to the talk about their first reactions and how it's changed over time — what it's done for them as people and as men,” says Ingram.
“I now know that, however I feel about it now, this is all going to grow and shift and change in the years ahead. It's a journey, and, because of them, I'm excited to be on it.”
“The Beautiful and Damned” is a 1922 classic novel written by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, which features a recurring theme of works, the excess and lavishness of the Jazz Ara.
The book is Fitzgerald’s second novel, set in 1920’s prohibition era New York, which tells the story of Harvard-educated, trust fund socialite Anthony Patch and his nonconformist and rebellious wife Gloria Gilbert.
Patch’s close friend from Harvard, Richard Caramel, introduces him to Gilbert, which sees an infatuation gradually become an obsession with her vanity and recklessness.
The young couple fall prey to primary human instincts in an endless frenzy of bacchanalian hedonism.
Patch is an orphan, though heir to his grandfather’s wealth, but finds himself excluded from the will due to his lack of purpose and direction.
The couple’s pleasure-seeking behavior backfires as the Great War ensues, and they find themselves on the brink of poverty.
The book challenges the idleness and morality of the pair, as their friends succeed in life while they spiral into decadence and decay; their lavish lifestyle dissipating, and bickering setting in as their finances worsen.
Due to their poverty, Gilbert attempts to take up acting, but is rejected for her age, and Patch is drafted into the military as the US enters the war.
Fitzgerald’s association with expatriate artists after the First World War had him coin the phrase “lost generation” in reference to the post-war period’s lack of direction, and meaningless wandering of its youth.
LOS ANGELES: Pop singer Britney Spears is set to marry longtime boyfriend Sam Asghari on Thursday after nearly six years together, a source close to the couple said. The pair announced their engagement via Instagram in September 2021 but had not disclosed a wedding date. Two months later, the “Stronger” singer was released from a legal conservatorship that had controlled her personal life and finances for 13 years. During court proceedings, she said she longed to get married and start a new family without any restrictions. Spears announced in April that she and Asghari were expecting a baby. A month later, the singer said she had suffered a miscarriage. Iranian-born Asghari, 28, is a personal trainer and actor who has appeared on the Showtime series “Black Monday.” Spears, 40, has been married twice before. She wed childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander in Las Vegas in 2004, but that marriage was annulled a few days later. That same year, she married dancer Kevin Federline, with whom she had two children. That marriage ended in divorce in 2007.