Total Arts

Déjà Vu, a multi-gallery exhibition conceived by Alserkal (), opening at Concrete on Saturday, 25 April at 4 PM.

Total Arts is pleased to participate by presenting SH-OBT, a video work by Dariush Zandi (.zandii), executed in 2026 based on an archival photograph from 1985 and a drawing from the same period. Reflecting the fragmented nature of memory, the work forms a dialogue between past and present, where traces of what once stood are reassembled through perception rather than physical reconstruction. It suggests that memory is neither fixed nor complete, but continually reshaped—layered, obscured, and reinterpreted over time.

Déjà Vu is inspired by Raed Yassin’s neon work Déjà Vu (2016), and unpacks the absurdity of repeated cycles, historical misalignment, memory glitches, and slippages in language.

The exhibition is curated by Kevin Jones (), Nada Raza (), and Zaina Zaarour ().
On view from 25 April until 8 May 2026
Concrete, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

Mr. Ramesh Shukla, a friend of Total Arts and the Courtyard, was a frequent and welcome presence in our space over the years.
Through his lens, his images became part of the nation’s visual memory.
His warmth, humility, and deep connection to the cultural fabric of the UAE will remain with our community.

As “The Gulf Through Time” remains on view, we’ve been honoured to welcome guests who are deeply intertwined with this history—individuals who’ve lived, built, documented, and shaped the city.
.zandii

For over four decades, Dariush Zandi, a town planner and photographer, has captured the Gulf—its cities, deserts, people, and architecture.