Reading Group: The role of nostalgia in contemporary art practice in the UAE

Janet Bellotto (1973, Toronto) graduated from Sculpture/Installation program at OCAD University in 1997, and received her Master of Fine Arts degree from Concordia University in 2001. She is teaching as a Professor in the College of Arts and Creative Enterprises at Zayed University, UAE. Bellotto’s practice encompasses various media including sculpture, installation, photography, video and performance while examining the ever-changing world that she travels. Water flows through her work: oceans and waves, submersion and reflections, in-between states that are fluid and aqueous. Inspired by narratives and locations, the metaphor of water is omnipresent in her work and is a comment on submersion and reflection. Bellotto’s art tries to capture the in between states that are always in a flux. Her installations scintillate and radiate as they weave through narratives that are seductive and hover between illusion and a shattering reality. Her practice also extends to curating and writing. Bellotto has initiated various artist collectives based on producing site-specific work or using spaces outside of gallery walls and creating cultural art exchanges. Her work has been exhibited in a variety of collective, group, and solo exhibitions internationally, including Beijing, New York, Toronto and Venice. Bellotto was Artistic Director for the 20th International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA2014) held in Dubai with the theme of “location.” Recent solo and group exhibitions include: Lifesaving (Zilberman Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey, 2016), Relation-Ships (Existence Doubtful) (MOCA London, UK, 2016), Art Stays 13—13th Festival of Contemporary Art (Ptuj, Slovenia, 2015), Joshua Treenial (Joshua Tree, USA, 2015), Nile Blue (Red Head Gallery, Toronto, Canada, 2012), Aquatica (Harvey Nichols, Dubai, UAE, 2012), The Lure (De Luca Fine Art Gallery, Toronto, Canada, 2011), 4th International Performance Art Show (Nahdet Misr Gallery, Mokhtar Museum, Cairo, Egypt, 2011), 12th Cairo Biennale (Cairo, Egypt, 2010), Drowning Ophelia (Stratford Gallery, Stratford, Canada, 2010), Point of Encounter (Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE, 2009), WAVE (The LAB, New York City, USA, 2008), Chinese Character Biennial (KU Art Center, Beijing, China, 2008), Dehisce (kkprojects, New Orleans, USA, 2007). Her work on Sable Island was published by lightbox + MAP Office, Venice, in the book Our Ocean Guide, 2017. Bellotto, lives and works between Toronto and Dubai.