After completing his studies in England, Hassan Sharif (1951–2016) returned to the UAE to practice conceptual and performative art. A pioneering figure in the region’s contemporary art scene, he repurposed found objects to critique consumerism and mass production. A key moment in his early career took place in 1985 when he staged a one-day exhibition at the Central Market in Sharjah with fellow artist Abdulrahim Salem. This exhibition, documented in a series of card-mounted photographs titled Central Market, Sharjah (1985), featured geometric paintings arranged under and over water bottles, along with other assemblages of everyday, easily sourced objects. Installed within the market’s bustling environment, displayed on walls and doors, these works were encountered by an audience of casual passersby and curious onlookers. By relocating art from conventional gallery spaces into a public, commercial setting, the exhibition disrupted traditional ideas of art as static, rarefied or remote. Instead, it invited the public to engage with art in the context of daily life.