This work is currently shown in the public art abu dhabi biennial.
Clearing the Mind: Reflections on Athar Jaber's Clearing
In our world today, we are inundated with impressions, references, and an endless stream of thoughts. Our minds buzz with ceaseless activity, and what was once a subtle and fine-tuned connection to our surroundings has become dulled, hardened, like stone. We have lost the quiet magic of telepathy—the unspoken ability to truly feel the world around us. Athar Jaber’s Clearing brought this realization crashing into my awareness, as heavy as the 23-ton block of limestone that holds its message.
The anthropomorphic opening carved into the stone invites a moment of stillness, a chance to contemplate the essence of human connection to the natural world. Yet, for me, it felt like a mirror held up to the modern condition—a symbol of the weight we carry. In the chiseled hollow, I saw not just an invitation to connect but also an echo of separation. That carved space, so deliberate, felt like the void between ourselves and the natural elements we long to feel but can’t quite reach.
Standing before Clearing, I couldn’t escape the sensation that our minds—laden with worry, anxiety, and endless noise—have become as dense and immovable as the limestone itself. It’s as though our internal worlds, so full of abstraction and preoccupation, weigh us down, cutting us off from the radiance and subtlety that once came naturally.
While Jaber’s work may symbolize unity and grounding in the material world, it also made me acutely aware of the barriers we’ve built within ourselves. It reminded me of the need to clear not just the spaces around us but the mental and emotional clutter we drag with us daily. Only then can we hope to rediscover that fine aura, that lost telepathy, and truly feel the pulse of the world again.
Athar Jaber’s Clearing doesn’t just stand as a testament to regional identity and the elemental power of stone—it speaks to the heaviness of the human experience today and the yearning to reconnect with what we’ve forgotten. It’s not just a sculpture; it’s a call to lighten the load.