The Future Was Desert (Part I & II)

“Deserts possess a particular magic, since they have exhausted their own futures, and are thus free of time.” J.G. Ballard’s commentary opens and sets the tone for Sophia Al-Maria’s “The Future Was Desert (Part I & II)” (2016), which pursues the artist’s interest in exploring the visual and aural aesthetics of deep time and post-human time in the Gulf Region. Depicting the intricacy between fossil/fuel dependency, wealth, and environmental devastation, Al Maria creates a set of delirious, post-apocalyptic dreamscapes in which past and future appear as arbitrary temporal references within a complex geopolitical landscape.

Artist: Sophia Al-Maria

Title of the work: "The Future Was Desert (Part I & II)"

Edition: Edition of 3 and 1 AP

Year: 2016

Medium: Single-Channel HD Video

Duration of the work: 5 mins, 17 secs

Copyright owner: Sophia Al-Maria

Language: English

Credits: Courtesy of the Artist and Project Native Informant, London