Alla Abdunabi’s first solo exhibition presents a new body of work that critiques and engages with simulacra, a concept used in philosophy and cultural studies to analyze how symbols shape our perceptions of what is accepted as “real.”
The work emphasizes the ways that iconography has been preserved and restored across different periods of history. By doing so, it raises crucial questions about how symbols not only endure but gain new significance as they are continually reintroduced into contemporary contexts. This restoration process, rather than simply reviving a historical moment or object, often reinforces the power structures embedded within them.Through the preservation of these icons in art, museums, or public spaces, Abdunabi investigates their influence and how they shape cultural and political narratives into the future.
This dynamic echoes Philosopher Jean Baudrillard’s notion that for ethnology or anthropology to exist, its object must metaphorically “die.” In this context, the once vibrant and culturally embedded object becomes a frozen artifact—stripped of its original function or meaning—yet continues to exert influence as a simulacrum. These objects are no longer alive in the sense of their cultural or historical authenticity but exist in a sterilized form, a preserved fragment in the repository of colonial and scientific institutions. As Baudrillard would argue, these simulacra—emptied of life yet hyper-visible—turn the very pursuit of knowledge into an act of simulation rather than discovery.
Central to the exhibition is the narrative of the Barbary lion, whose physical extinction and symbolic immortality serve as the perfect illustration of this phenomenon. Once native to North Africa, the Barbary lion was hunted into extinction by imperial powers, becoming a casualty of both ecological destruction and colonial assertion of dominance over nature. Yet, even in death, the Barbary lion lives on as a potent symbol of imperial power and grandeur.
The exhibition uses the lion’s duality—its mortal extinction and its symbolic resurrection—to explore how colonial violence often outlives the physical acts of subjugation, continuing to exert influence through symbols and representations. The lion’s body is both dead and immortal—its real, physical form eradicated, but its image preserved and exploited to assert power. This reanimation mirrors broader practices of colonialism, where the tangible effects of violence and exploitation are enshrined into the very institutions that continue to shape cultural memory today. By framing the lion’s image as a symbol of both destruction and immortality, the exhibition questions the ethics of restoring and displaying objects that carry colonial histories and what “care“ means in these contexts.
Alla Abdunabi is participating in the 2025 cycle of the 421 Artistic Development Program, mentored by Jolaine Frizzell. The Artistic Development Program is an annual capacity-building initiative that provides early-career artists in the UAE with the opportunity to explore new techniques, test ideas, and create a cohesive body of work for their first solo exhibition.
When
11 April - 4 May, See the website for the opening hours.
Age
0+
Telephone number
+971 2 676 8803
Links
Address
Abu DhabiWarehouse421, Abu Dhabi, Mina Zayed, Street Samrayr, Warehouse421
How to get there?
From Abu Dhabi City: Follow the (E10) or Corniche Street towards Port Zayed (Secondary Entrance). Join 20th Street and at the 2nd roundabout turn left.
From Dubai (Travelling on E11): Take Saadiyat Island / Yas Island exit onto Sheikh Khalifa Highway (E12), Continue onto Sheikh Khalifa Highway following the signs for Port Zayed (Secondary Gate). Join 20th Street, and at the 2nd roundabout, turn left.
Key landmarks nearby Warehouse421 are Abu Dhabi Vegetable Market and Mina Center.