Desert is a Forest

Jameel Arts Centre, known as Dubai's contemporary arts museum, first opened its doors to the public in November 2018.  The architecture, as well as the thinking behind Jameel Arts Centre’s curatorial programme, is influenced by the building’s position on the Dubai Creek, and includes a subtle play on interior and exterior spaces, aiming to maximise a sense of openness and accessibility. 

 Light is funnelled into the galleries and Library through seven sustainable, open-air gardens which punctuate the building, re-set the mind, and allow art, books and the community to directly interact with flora and the outdoors.

Alongside these seven gardens is a courtyard reserved for artists to cultivate and experiment via a bi-annual Artist's Garden commission, which allows artists to draw on their own practice and interest in flora and the meaning and symbolism of plants, or opt to pick up on the inspiration of the Dubai Creek itself or touch on the Centre’s curatorial thematics.

The third Artist’s Garden commission at Jameel Arts Centre is Desert is a Forest by Sunoj D and Namrata Neog, which begins with the prompt of how to “think like a forest”. 

The garden includes a selection of plants, indigenous to the UAE that are/were traditionally consumed both by humans and goats or used for medicinal purposes. Most of the plants selected for the garden grow naturally in the wilderness, often mistaken as weeds, and in areas where resulting in farmers and goat herders growing a larger quantity of plants to feed the goats, and other plants have become scarcer as animal grazing increased and environmental conditions shifted.

The Artist’s Garden is also inhabited by mineral deposits or ‘mineral licks’, which often form on the surface of stones or pools of water, becoming spaces that attract animals, plants and humans for their essential mineral nutrients. A garden of complex entanglements, Desert  The plants grown in the Artist’s Garden are all consumed by goats and used traditionally by the local community for food or medicinal purposes. 

Arfaj starts flowering in December, and historically people ate the tender flowers by picking them directly off of the plants. The goats too thrive on the plant, which nourishes their milk. Today, Arfaj is considered one of the rarest plants in the UAE and is mostly found in the north-eastern part of the country. 

There are two types of Arta, spread between two diverse geographies – the ‘giant’ plant, growing in sandy regions and the ‘small’ plant (arbi), growing in rocky terrains. As the plants start flowering in March, people living in mountainous regions of the UAE, even today, add the The leaves of the plant are also used as a tea to treat diarrhoea, and the leaves are often dried in the sun and then infused in water or fish oil for cooking. 

As goats graze upon its spindly stems, people in some parts of the UAE dry and grind Rimth to add to boiling water as a tea, which is believed to be highly medicinal in nature. 

Zaabal propagates by self-seeding and has a short lifespan of three months. Mostly found in the Jebel Hafit area, Zaabal is highly grazed upon by goats in this region, and is now considered a rare grass in the UAE. 

Thriving through the valleys and mountains of Fujairah; goats, humans and birds are heavily drawn to this shrub for its seeds. People consume the seeds when they are still tender and birds consider this shrub as a safe haven for building nests.

Known for its high medicinal properties, Harmel is used in traditional medicine for muscle pains, diabetes, stomach aches, wounds and cuts.  Traditionally, the leaves were also boiled in water to bathe in, which helped relieve rashes and fungus on skin. Goats also love to eat the flowers and leaves.  

A small mountainous tree, the Shih leaves are used to make a bitter tea, which helps to relieve constipation, diabetes and was traditionally used to treat fevers.

Common around Fujeirah, today Silm is considered a rare tree. The yellow flowers of Silm are considered very special, as they attract bees and are used to make honey.  The leaves are much loved by the goats, and as Silm being a thorny tree, provides the much needed protection to the homes of birds and other small animals. 

The roots of Al Raq continue to be used as a natural toothbrush in some parts of the UAE. It is a very important plant for goats and camels as it helps the animals produce milk, and gives their milk a high vitamin content.   

Commonly widespread across the UAE, the tender leaves and flowers of Markh were often used in different food preparations. Markh was also used to make rope and fishing tools. At the same time, it is a highly grazed plant by goats and other desert animals. 

Across Fujeirah and Ras Al Khaimah, Khobez is distinctly noticed in the evenings with its strong smell.  Growing across the rocky mountainous terrain, Khobez is drunk as tea and with a slight bitter taste, it helps relieve stomach pain and is used for cleansing the body. 

Khansour/Yadaa is mainly found in the high mountain ranges of the UAE. It often finds its way into Al Saloona, a meal eaten with rice and has a similar consistency to stew, and the leaves are also added to salads. The plant also has medicinal properties, believed to help with diabetes. Commonly found with red blooms, the yellow bloom variant of this plant is now considered rare. 

Usually found across the wadis of the UAE, Seedaf grows in the winter, and the leaves are often added to salads. 

Humans and goats are drawn to Felh at sunset, when the flowers open up and start blooming. The leaves of the plant are also added to salads, and the flowers are used for preparing jam, and were also known to relieve tooth pain.