“Utility of Being: A Paradox of Proximity” is a site-specific installation conceived from the gathered pelts of the fat-tailed Awassi sheep — a byproduct of the slaughtering process. Staged within the Old Slaughterhouse of Sharjah, the installation comprises pneumatic tubular forms echoing the visceral lines of animal entrails. The continuously inflated bodies reclaim the space while suspended from the hooks and rails originally used for handling animal carcasses. The work serves as a metaphor for understanding the tension that lies at the edge of survival and commerce, challenging notions of human-animal relationality, the alchemy of material processes, and the fragility of biological existence.
The Awassi sheep is the most widespread, non-European breed in southwest Asia. The extended shared history between early humans and sheep speaks to an intricate, multidimensional relationship, enabling both to proliferate as a single unit in expanding territories. In life, the sheep provide nourishment and an ongoing supply of raw materials like milk, wool, and manure as fertilizer. Following its demise, often an outcome of sacrifice, its biomass is consumed as meat. The inedible parts, including the skin, bones, and sinew, were traditionally processed and transformed fully to make utilitarian objects such as containers, paper, clothing, and shelter. The latter paved the way for numerous specialized craft sectors, turning animal remains into objects of cultural significance. Amid rapid industrialization, urbanization, and globalization, one witnesses a waning of indigenous forms of production and with it the significance of this animal’s substantial offerings in contemporary society.
