shaikha al mazrou creates light art from crystallized seawater at manar abu dhabi

the contingent object glows in abu dhabi

Emirati artist Shaikha Al Mazrou presents The Contingent Object at Manar Abu Dhabi 2025, a public light art exhibition unfolding within a coastal landscape shaped by mangroves and tidal air.

Sited close to water, the luminous work takes the form of a circular salt field measuring roughly thirty meters across. The installation registers time through material change. Seawater settles into a shallow plane, and as heat and wind take hold, evaporation thickens the surface. Color intensifies, crystals begin to assemble, and a pale crust develops along the edges. What begins as a calm liquid state gradually compacts into a dense, reflective plane, carrying the imprint of climate and duration.

Shaikha Al Mazrou, Contingent Object, 2025. Manar Abu Dhabi 2025. image courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi. photo by Lance Gerber

Shaikha Al Mazrou uses Material as Process

Creating the Contingent Object, artist Shaikha Al Mazrou, employs salt as both medium and indicator. The material’s responsiveness to environment gives the piece a living quality, shaped daily by light levels, humidity, and shifting temperatures. The ground plane remains precise in geometry, yet its surface resists exact repetition. Fine variations accrue across the circle, producing subtle tonal gradients and textures that register up close before resolving at scale.

After dusk, a restrained lighting system activates along the perimeter and beneath the salt plane. The illumination stays low and even, allowing the circle to hover visually above the ground. Approached on foot, the work reveals itself gradually. The surrounding darkness compresses attention toward the illuminated edge, creating a measured spatial rhythm that encourages slow movement and extended viewing.

Shaikha Al Mazrou, Contingent Object, 2025. Manar Abu Dhabi 2025. image courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi. photo by Lance Gerber

Light, Landscape, and Duration

Within the broader context of Manar Abu Dhabi, The Contingent Object participates in a city-scale conversation about light, site, and public access. The biennial brings together installations that engage outdoor settings through restraint and technical precision. Our recent coverage of DRIFT’s installation for Manar Abu Dhabi, which translated motion and aerial choreography into a shared nocturnal experience, offers a point of comparison rooted in light as a spatial tool rather than an effect-driven gesture.

Shaikha Al Mazrou’s approach remains grounded in physical transformation. Light plays a supporting role, tracing the boundary of the work rather than overtaking it. The glow frames the salt field and reveals the incremental shifts in its surface, reinforcing the idea of duration as a central design parameter.

Shaikha Al Mazrou, Contingent Object, 2025. Manar Abu Dhabi 2025. image courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi

Shaikha Al Mazrou, Contingent Object, 2025. Manar Abu Dhabi 2025. image courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi. photo by Lance Gerber

1/3

Shaikha Al Mazrou, Contingent Object, 2025. Manar Abu Dhabi 2025. image courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi

Shaikha Al Mazrou, Contingent Object, 2025. Manar Abu Dhabi 2025. image courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi. photo by Lance Gerber

project info:

name: Contingent Object

artist: Shaikha Al Mazrou | @shaikha.almazrou

location: Abu Dhabi, UAE

festival: Manar Abu Dhabi 2025 | @publicartabudhabi

theme: The Light Compass

dates: November 15th, 2025 – January 4th, 2026

kat barandy I designboom (3538)

dec 15, 2025