Abbas Akhavan Solo Show

Islands is a statement about the Dubai real-estate market. Using gold leaf, talented artist Abbas Akhavan paints the map of Dubai on the gallery’s wall, cuts out pieces of his work and sells them like actual land, with prices varying according to location as well as market demand and supply.

Given the sensibilities of designing for an artist, the challenge of this project was to design a poster as impactful as the artist’s statement, without using graphics or personal interpretations of his work. The solution was to mimic the artist’s technique by cutting a hole out of the poster. This was not only a nod to the artist’s concept, but was also used by attendees as a device to frame the section of the work they were interested in buying.