Afra Al Dhaheri: Restless Circle

Restless Circle brings together a selection of works by Afra Al Dhaheri that explore the structural effects of tension, repetition and time. Working with materials such as cotton rope, fabric, cement and hair, the artist emphasises slow gestures, intentional movements and the fatigue that can build from ongoing, repetitive and even invisible labour.

The exhibition takes its title from the newly commissioned installation Restless Circle (2025), which draws inspiration from desert plants that etch spiral patterns in the sand as they move with the wind. For the artist, this constant motion—not moving towards a clear destination but simply responding to forces beyond its control—offers a metaphor for mental exhaustion and collective burnout, the sense of being endlessly pushed to produce or perform. In other works, repetition emerges as a condition of making, a method shaped by the interplay of tension, weight and the ongoing rhythm of doing and undoing.

Time weaves itself into these works as it bends, drifts, loops and circles back, striking a delicate balance between continuity and rupture. Through Al Dhaheri’s subtle manipulations, Restless Circle draws our attention to the remains of what was once held together, the knowledge that forms through the process of undoing, and the exhaustion that accumulates over the course of repeated tasks. What happens when we stay a while with what is quiet, invisible and unresolved?

Restless Circle is curated by May Alqaydi, Assistant Curator, Sharjah Art Foundation.