brief
At Abu Dhabi Art 2025, Aldar sought a renewed mode of engagement, one that would move beyond expectations and offer more meaningful engagement with audiences. The ambition was to introduce a moment that could anchor visitors as they entered, fostering reflection, connection, and a reorientation.
RESPONSE
Reframing the threshold experience
Alserkal Advisory reconceptualised the conventional purpose of a visitor lounge, transforming it into an opportunity for artistic encounter. The commission would serve as an immediate point of orientation, inviting visitors into a contemplative state before engaging with the wider fair. This shift from passive viewing to active engagement set the tone for Aldar’s presence and articulated a clear commitment to experiential cultural practice.
Developing a commission rooted in inquiry
We invited Timo Nasseri to extend his ongoing investigation into speculative geometry and reflection. Building on these inquiries, Nasseri conceived All Light Remembers Us (2025), an immersive mirrored installation illuminated by an intricate neon constellation. The work brought together two central strands of his practice, order and perception, into a space where optical and intellectual reflection converge.
Within the installation, light operated as both material and metaphor. Cosmological, ornamental, and numerical systems informed the work’s internal logic, offering symbols and structures that gesture toward meaning while remaining open to interpretation. In doing so, the commission prompted visitors to move from looking at something to looking through it.
Delivering an experience that shaped the fair
Over the course of Abu Dhabi Art 2025, the installation drew over 4,000 visitors, becoming a shared point of connection within the fair. Its presence demonstrated how a single commission, when strategically conceived, can recalibrate the visitor journey, deepen engagement, and articulate the values of the commissioning entity. Through All Light Remembers Us, Aldar reaffirmed its position as a patron of experiential art, pursuing work that transforms both physical and conceptual space.
