CEREMONIAL ACHIEVEMENTS: GCC

Ribbon-cutting is traditionally an act of inauguration and frequently announces the opening of a space to the public. The ceremony is used as a self-aggrandising tool to commemorate a bureaucracy's own officials and dignitaries.

However participation in the ritual is not purely symbolic - ribbon cutting creates a platform by which state leaders and officials secure their omnipresence. The ritual reinforces the idea of a stable, benevolent government, and subsequently a unified GCC.

In Ceremonial Achievements, GCC draws the viewer into an ceremonial vortex in order to direct attention to this very particular mechanism of power consolidation that exists at the thresholds of public and private space.

GCC is a collective based in the Arabian Gulf and was founded in 2013. Their name is taken from the English abbreviation for the Gulf Cooperation Council, a governmental union comprised of six of the Arabian Gulf countries. GCC excavates conventional Arabian Gulf society to create a multi-dimensional narrative. The collective consists of Abdullah Al-Mutairi, Amal Khalaf, Aziz Al Qatami, Barrak Alzaid, Fatima Al Qadiri, Khalid al Gharaballi, Monira Al Qadiri, Nanu Al-Hamad and Sophia Al Maria.

Solo exhibitions include A space for national Achievements at Sultan Gallery, Kuwait (2013) and Achievements in Swiss Summit at Project Native Informant, London (2013). GCC is also part of the group exhibitions Speculations on Anonymous Materials at Fridericianum, Kassel (2013).