SAF 16: TO CARRY (SELECTED PROJECTS)

As a scenography studio, our role was to translate curatorial, artistic, and archival narratives and methodologies into spatial experiences. This involved designing immersive environments that responded to each project’s unique context, materiality, and conceptual framework. In collaboration with Natasha Ginwala, we developed spatial installations that not only housed the works but also extended their meanings through architectural and scenographic interventions.

Together, we worked closely to ensure that the spatial interventions were deeply integrated with the thematic and curatorial intentions of each project. We had extensive discussions about how to create spaces that were not merely exhibition settings but active elements in the storytelling of each work. Our approach was about responding to the artists’ visions while considering the specificity of each venue and its historical or cultural context. We have we have focused on three spatial installations:

Singing Wells at Bait Al Serkal
For the Singing Wells project, the challenge was to create a scenography that resonated with the sonic and communal aspects of the work. We designed a space that allowed the audience to engage with the sound in a way that evoked the ritualistic and performative oral singing history from different regions of East Africa, considering elements like acoustics, light, and materiality.

Chandralekha at Al Qasimiyah School
Chandralekha’s work is deeply rooted in movement, philosophy, and the relationship between the body and space. At Al Qasimia School, our installation had to echo these principles while respecting the programmatic significance of the site. We created a series of stages that allowed for both contemplation and learning, bridging the physical and metaphysical dimensions of her practice.

Viswanadhan at Gallery 4, Sharjah Art Foundation
Viswanadhan’s work engages with materiality and abstraction, and our spatial intervention at Gallery 4 aimed to enhance these qualities. The challenge was to create an environment that complemented his aesthetic language while ensuring an immersive experience for the viewer. We played with textures, scale, and movement within the space to achieve this.

Each venue had its own constraints—historical, architectural, and logistical. One of the key challenges was maintaining the integrity of these spaces while transforming them to support the artworks. Another challenge was ensuring that our scenographic interventions were not overpowering but rather in dialogue with the works and the audiences engaging with them.

We see scenography as an active agent in storytelling. It’s not just about designing a space but shaping experiences that unfold in time. We approach each project by deeply engaging with its conceptual, material, and performative dimensions. The Sharjah Biennial installations were an opportunity to explore how spatial design can enhance the way audiences connect with spirituality, sound, and movement.

2025 SAF 16, Sharjah, UEA

Curator: Natasha Ginwala 
Exhibition Design by Diogo Passarinho Studio

Venues:  Al Qasimiyah School, Sharjah Art Foundation,Bait Al Serkal

Team: Diogo Passarinho and Gonçalo Reynolds

Photography: Ivan Erofeev. Images courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation