curatorial framework
This project did not begin with a research question. It began with a return to the Hajar Mountains, to paths walked since childhood, to the realisation that the land holds more than stone.
For generations, the mountains have been a source of sustenance and shelter. Their plants are not mere elements of the landscape; they are threads in the fabric of daily life. A flexible stem woven into a stone roof, resilient timber shaped into a tool, a bitter leaf brewed for health. Each carries a “knowledge of necessity” passed between generations. This knowledge lives in memory and practice, in the quiet wisdom of those who still read the seasons.
From the cities to the highlands, we learned to listen. We walked with elders, collected names, and documented plants that have sustained families, livestock, and traditions. Roots of Stone is an act of documentation born from the meeting of observation and memory, a reflection on how the people of this land have long understood that survival is shaped by deep attention to the natural world.
The Hajar Mountains are not merely a landscape. They are a foundation of resilience, of connection between this land and those it sustained. In honouring this connection, we honour the generations before and the future they made possible.
programming
As part of the research process, the researchers led a field experience in the Hajar Mountains, in coordination with Yrz Adventures and Chef Moza Al Matrooshi.
On the Trails of the Hajar Mountains: Plants, Memory, and Taste was a field-based experience exploring native plants, ecological heritage, and the memory of place. The tour took participants on a hike across the mountains to learn about traditional uses of plants and the stories tied to them, concluding with a culinary experience inspired by the region’s wild plants.
Museum Intervention
ABOUT THE GRANTEES
Asma Al Ahmed is an artist whose work explores the UAE’s evolving environment through mixed media, textile, sculpture, and installation. A graduate of the University of Sharjah’s College of Fine Arts and Design (2013), she has presented work in exhibitions including the 30th Annual Exhibition of the Emirates Fine Arts Society (2012) and the Bayn Art Exhibition (2017). Through the Etihad Museum Research Grant, her project aims to document the wild mountain plants of the Hajar Mountains, highlighting their ecological and cultural significance in a bilingual art encyclopaedia that integrates photography, plant pressing, and visual storytelling.
Mohammed Ahli is an Emirati hiker and landscape photographer based in Dubai. Over the past 15 years, he has explored more than 110 countries, documenting natural landscapes across remote and wild locations. His photographic practice is characterised by a sensitivity to light, atmosphere, and transient conditions, informed by an attentiveness to patience and resilience in the field. Ahli’s work examines the relationship between land, time, and human experience. As part of the Etihad Museum Research Grant, he will apply his expertise in field photography to document the wild plants of the Hajar Mountains, preserving their significance through visual storytelling.
Asma’s Instagram: @asma.y.alahmed
Mohammed’s Instagram: @mohdaahli
Follow the project on: rootsinstone.ae
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