https://departures81.net Departures 81 Thu, 27 May 2021 21:32:03 +0000 https://departures81.net en https://departures81.net/Welcome Thu, 20 May 2021 18:12:22 +0000 Departures 81 https://departures81.net/Welcome <img width="630" height="150" width_o="630" height_o="150" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ae3d7c3cc56712060e921ba5d0f132a0760dadbbb45b25c2519466fa0c927ed6/d81-logo.png" data-mid="109614663" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/630/i/ae3d7c3cc56712060e921ba5d0f132a0760dadbbb45b25c2519466fa0c927ed6/d81-logo.png" /> 00. About Departures ‘81 The Hajj Terminal at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport (‘KAIA’) is the world’s largest open air structure. A portal for the millions of Muslim pilgrims flying to Saudi Arabia each year for Hajj*, its innovative yet empathetic design endures and recently drew attention for being ideally suited to a post-pandemic world.This distinctive structure is also a potent symbol of my early childhood. From 1980-1983 our family lived on ‘KAIA’ camp (an area of airport territory for workers from the German and American construction firms) whilst my father, Iain Davidson (1942-2007), worked on the build. Using his photographs and mementos as the jumping-off point, Departures ‘81 explores the idea of resonance: both of an inaccessible place that exists through faded memory and the evocative visual language of materials left behind. By inviting artists to respond to the architecture and archive, Departures ‘81 breathes new life into this rich source, and, by connecting with other lives that have been touched by the Terminal, seeks to open up discussions about human endeavour and connection, parental influence and how the past brings to bear on the present. Natalie Davidson *a pilgrimage made to Islam’s holiest sites, including the Great Mosque at Mecca. &nbsp; https://departures81.net/Andrew-Beltran Thu, 20 May 2021 18:12:23 +0000 Departures 81 https://departures81.net/Andrew-Beltran <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ee3d90759d0e9c8e2f9d19d3c102db2fb233fe7fc936ffcb00e0a80dca02abae/Collages-For-Web-10.png" data-mid="109714005" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ee3d90759d0e9c8e2f9d19d3c102db2fb233fe7fc936ffcb00e0a80dca02abae/Collages-For-Web-10.png" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a59c63c83f02cf693a53910df58b40c6be0ca1f35f4034449fd22feee19436ac/Collages-For-Web-09.png" data-mid="109713997" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a59c63c83f02cf693a53910df58b40c6be0ca1f35f4034449fd22feee19436ac/Collages-For-Web-09.png" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/27f6822a30a26a4115487856964008a05014945e54a26cc05fa82f04eb967ce9/Collages-For-Web-16.png" data-mid="109714230" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/27f6822a30a26a4115487856964008a05014945e54a26cc05fa82f04eb967ce9/Collages-For-Web-16.png" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0a410e321d4e90b46f09491ce98114cc423923a290ba3f250fb52295e83009f6/Collages-For-Web-14.png" data-mid="109714136" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/0a410e321d4e90b46f09491ce98114cc423923a290ba3f250fb52295e83009f6/Collages-For-Web-14.png" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bc7620501257665619063610716cf49b5310a7d1e5bea9e9f53e26e2b7d5e6dc/Collages-For-Web-13.png" data-mid="109714125" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/bc7620501257665619063610716cf49b5310a7d1e5bea9e9f53e26e2b7d5e6dc/Collages-For-Web-13.png" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d43d8f9712c21e53e8f836a0fab71c1b013b27a77f12215cdb84ef20907642f0/Collages-For-Web-12.png" data-mid="109714093" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d43d8f9712c21e53e8f836a0fab71c1b013b27a77f12215cdb84ef20907642f0/Collages-For-Web-12.png" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8ee5f1545b3687a67dca0be19e91f82a677ba6011fcde013bf444f8aafe83d8f/Collages-For-Web-11.png" data-mid="109714060" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8ee5f1545b3687a67dca0be19e91f82a677ba6011fcde013bf444f8aafe83d8f/Collages-For-Web-11.png" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/dfbcfa67d7d398d4fc0c2eb484aa6a659cc43d50b630e3343ac8f1a257844677/Collages-For-Web-15.png" data-mid="109714222" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/dfbcfa67d7d398d4fc0c2eb484aa6a659cc43d50b630e3343ac8f1a257844677/Collages-For-Web-15.png" /> 01. Andrew Beltran‘Archival Dig’ Ink on newsprint; images from Departures ‘81 publication Show infoHide info All images and artefacts courtesy of Iain Davidson’s archive from the KAIA construction build. Key sources include the International Airports Projects commemorative publication ‘King Abdulaziz International Airport’ by Paul Moore and Randy Fisher, national airline Saudia’s in-flight magazine ‘Ahlan Wasahlan’ and [Saudi national oil company] Aramco World Magazine. Additional airside Hajj Terminal and family photography by Iain Davidson. KAIA tie and Taif camping polaroids courtesy of Kate and George Craig (former residents of KAIA camp and employee of International Airports Projects respectively). Construction image montage -featuring Royal Pavilion construction- are 35mm slides from Iain Davidson’s collection, thought to be taken by an official photographer (no further details are known). + &nbsp; &nbsp; https://departures81.net/Landside Thu, 20 May 2021 18:22:01 +0000 Departures 81 https://departures81.net/Landside 02. Landside: interview with Chip Richie Chip Richie (CR) is a writer, producer and film director based in Dallas, Texas. In 1980, Chip and his father, Robert Yarnall Richie (1908-1984) made a round-the-world trip to film ‘Gateway to Mecca’, which documented the manufacturing and assembly of key components of the Hajj Terminal structure. Yasmin Sabina Khan (YSK) is a structural engineer and author based in Chicago, Illinois. She is the daughter of Dr. Fazlur Rahman Khan: structural engineer, frequently described as ‘the father of the modern skyscraper’. Fazlur Khan’s contribution to the evolution of the award-winning Hajj Terminal was integral to its success. In 2004 Yasmin published ‘Engineering Architecture: the vision of Fazlur R. Khan’, a detailed account of her father’s work, written with both technical and personal insights. Yasmin has kindly and generously permitted me to reproduce extracts from her book. Natalie Davidson (ND) is the curator and creative producer of Departures ‘81, an online exhibition and associated publication responding to my father’s archive of his time working on the construction of the Hajj Terminal and King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA). (ND) How did the film ‘Gateway to Mecca’ come about? (CR) My father had heard about the project and approached Owens Corning Fiberglass about doing a film on the project. He, and we, had worked in Saudi Arabia on a number of occasions. He did his first film there in ‘47 called ‘Desert Venture’. And you can see it on YouTube. It was sponsored by the Seven Sisters, the transnational companies such as Standard Oil, Texaco and Mobil. The film talked about the discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia and how America was going to help Saudi Arabia develop those oil fields and take it to market. Whilst there he met King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud [King Abdulaziz], who is the father of Saudi Arabia, that’s where the name comes from, the Saud Family. And then, a year later, he was commissioned by the King to come back and shoot his Royal portraits. So he spent 10 days in Khuzam Palace waiting for an audience with the King. He shot 5 x 7 colour Ektachrome negatives, we've got about eight portraits. One that was used most widely throughout the Kingdom, they used beyond the contract, let me just put it that way! They were very free willed with it. He did his first film there in ‘47 called ‘Desert Venture’. And you can see it on YouTube. It was sponsored by the Seven Sisters, the transnational companies such as Standard Oil, Texaco and Mobil. And then he went back to Saudi Arabia, I think in ‘52, to do a film that was presented at some sort of UN -&nbsp; it might have been called the League of Nations back then. It was a presentation made and narrated in Arabic, basically just saying, ‘you know thank you very much, we appreciate being able to come here and exploit your oil’ [laughs]. So that was all a relationship with Aramco. And, over the years, he continued his relationship with Aramco based out of Houston. And in ‘76, we got contracted to go back to Saudi Arabia. We spent a month there on the base, in Aramco housing, and also living in Al-Khobar to make a film called ‘Challenge by Choice’, which I believe is up on the website. The colour is really terrible, but anyway, it was a film that would inform the wives of the new employees, of what their lives would be like in Saudi Arabia. So we found a family and we showed them boarding an airplane in America and going to Saudi Arabia and showing their base facilities, their home on campus, the swimming pool, the bowling alley. We went to downtown Al-Khobar for a shopping spree and we interviewed this family about what they thought about their experience. And in later years, you would see ads in newspapers, the headline would be ‘Challenge by Choice’ like we named it, and then it would say we have an opportunity for you to move to Saudi Arabia and work there. So that was in ‘76. So having had this connection with Saudi Arabia for so many years, when we heard about the project for Owens Corning, we were given the opportunity to bid on it and won. (ND) Can you tell me about the process of making the film? We made two trips. One was around the world. We were a crew of three, with my father [Robert Yarnall Richie] being the director, me being Director of Photography plus a Sound Man. We flew from Texas to Tokyo, then took the high-speed train to the city of Tsu where they built the pylons. We showed the manufacturing of the pylons there then we flew 20 hours to Jeddah, and spent 10 days photographing the very early development of the airport. They had one tent structure up and we were there to show them drilling the holes for the pylons to go in, the laying of the cement and then the assembly of the other structures, the fiberglass and the cabling that made them. After that we flew to Geneva because it was the closest big city to this town of Bourg-en-Bresse, France. where we showed the manufacturing of the cables, how they were spun, how they were folded by hand to make the end-caps that went in to be the foundation of the structure, that would hold up the tents. And then in the United States, we went to manufacturing facilities, I believe in New Hampshire, for Owens Corning and shot the manufacture of the fiberglass. So the film was all about assembling the project from start to finish. We finished that film and delivered it, and then a year or two later, we went back when the first Hajis were arriving, getting off their planes, and the idea was that it would be a graduation into that community. So they're in an airplane and they get off and they're in this huge tent structure which is not air conditioned, but it's covered. And you had people coming from Africa and the Far East and Asia. And so we filmed people coming in, boarding buses to go to Mecca, which we didn't go to, of course. So that's the story of what we did in a nutshell. And it was roughly a two year project. It was an exciting project. Back then there was a film production magazine called ‘On Location’ and they had heard about the father-son team that was making this documentary on this very unique project. And so they contacted us and did a story on us, and we were featured on the cover where I was filming and my father was above me pointing, you know, the classic picture. So that's on the cover of that magazine and I have a copy of that. Back then there was a film production magazine called ‘On Location’ and they had heard about the father-son team that was making this documentary on this very unique project.&nbsp;My father started out as a still photographer. He did covers for Fortune Magazine and Life Magazine and many Fortune 500 companies, he did the annual reports for. So when he got into filming in the late ‘40s, he was still a photographer. So whenever he would be on location filming something in 16mm, he would be taking pictures. So we have a lot of pictures that he took on location in Saudi Arabia. (ND) Were you there when they raised the roof? Did you film that? (CR) I believe that on the second trip they were just finishing that section. They'd opened up one section and it was revealed for Hajjis. I think the last section was still being finished and I shot a time-lapse of the roof being raised at sunset. Each pylon had a motor on it. And the motor was set for you know, so many inches per minute and it slowly raised it up and then once it was up, they anchored it. (YSK) ‘The scale of the terminal roof structure can be appreciated by comparison with a multi-story building: the sixth-floor level of an average office building would locate the plane of the fabric structure’s lower edge at 66 feet above the ground; the width of each roof unit is more than two times this dimension. Raising the roof structure to its great height, the designers felt, was appropriate for the proportions of the terminal and necessary to achieve the ‘pleasant airy environment’ that they envisioned.’ (ND) It’s incredible and still gives me shivers seeing those shots. To think of building something of that scale in the desert from nothing. Do you remember what the atmosphere was like on that day when they were raising the roof? (CR) Well they raised many roofs. I mean each peak was a raise. I do remember being told that they were spending six thousand dollars per square foot on the Royal Pavilion. If you could imagine that and that was six thousand dollars in 1980, which would be $25,000 a day, maybe per square foot. I do remember being told that they were spending six thousand dollars per square foot on the Royal Pavilion.&nbsp; (ND) I remember my Dad talking about the Italian marble and the Royal Pavilion and I recently found a box of slides which must have been taken by an official photographer. You can see the structure of the Royal Pavilion going up. Can you talk about the section of the film when the architects are all in a room, do you have any recollections of that meeting at all? (CR) It was a very short period of time that we were able to get them together, of course they weren't there to make a film, but we were there to capture it and so we decided to make a reenactment because it had already been designed. So they talked about how the project was developed, they would look at one possibility, and they had some models in the room and they ‘this is the model we’ve decided upon’ and then [Dr. Fazlur] Khan was the one that said, ‘you know, we envisioned it because it was from the desert and we wanted to to have this historical aspect to it’. I think we were there for two hours at most to capture that. (YSK) ‘With talents resting in both worlds, Khan intertwined an affinity for the poetic with that for the concrete- whether in the case of the East and the West or the aesthetic and the rational. His poetic sense of structural logic enabled him to affect the course of high-rise architecture in the twentieth century; it likewise gave him the means with which to meld historical precedent with sophisticated technology to create an efficient and economic structure in Saudi Arabia that honors the spirit of the pilgrimage at Mecca.’ (ND) And what did you personally make of the terminal structure? Did you walk in amongst it and around it? (CR) I've got pictures of myself and my dad on top of it! We would go walking across it. We had, as filmmakers, and especially at that period of time and in a foreign country where OSHA [Occupational Safety Hazard Association] and all the attorneys since then weren’t involved, so we could pretty much go and do whatever we wanted to do, within reason. They would take us up in those huge man lifts to the edge of the fabric and then we'd have to unload our camera equipment onto the roof to walk on it and shoot on it. I put special shoes on the bottom of the tripod so that the spikes didn’t damage the tent. So, yeah, that's my recollection of it. It was huge. Standing under one of the modules looking up, everything was huge and I do remember them discussing having the tent raised really high so that there would be a breeze that could blow through there and that breeze would be shaded, so it would be cool. They were very aware of that. So it would be cool. I never did discuss with them how that would work in a sandstorm [laughs]. + &nbsp; &nbsp; https://departures81.net/Hajj-Terminal-Virtual-Rebuild Thu, 20 May 2021 18:28:39 +0000 Departures 81 https://departures81.net/Hajj-Terminal-Virtual-Rebuild 03. C-Jaye Newton (virtual world building) &amp; Moving Still (music composition)Hajj Terminal Virtual Rebuild Show infoHide info C-Jaye Newton is a London-based art director, artist and researcher working with both analogue and digital media across graphic design, spatial design and moving image. Moving Still is Jamal Sul - a Jeddah-born, Dublin-based dj and producer with releases on Dar Disku, Jive Hive,&nbsp;Nail Shop &amp; Orange Tree Edits. His edits have charged the sets of high-profile DJs, topped the Rush Hour sales charts, and made his own Dublin Digital Radio and NTS shows a portal to untold musical riches. Featured track by Moving Still - ‘Ama’. Night time runway scenes feature KAIA logo designed by Bill Cannan and Lance Wyman. ▶ + &nbsp; &nbsp; https://departures81.net/Airside Thu, 20 May 2021 18:29:49 +0000 Departures 81 https://departures81.net/Airside 04.Airside: in conversation with Bash Khan Bash Khan (BK) &nbsp;is a photographer and filmmaker from Glasgow. He’s also a good friend- we met in 2008 whilst working together at Glasgow arts organisation Project Ability. Bash is the person who, following on from his own Hajj journey in 2016, inspired and encouraged me (ND) to re-examine my father’s Hajj Terminal photographs and archive. Bash has created a number of artworks in response to his Hajj - ‘Take These Words’,&nbsp; a single continuous shot depicting pilgrims circling the Kaaba in Mecca’s holy Mosque, first shown in the Laurieston Church in 2016; and ‘There Shall Be No Interest’, a sound and video installation in The Hidden Gardens, in 2018. Bash and I have continued our conversations about Hajj and the Hajj Terminal ever since. We picked it up again recently, when Bash was observing Ramadan. Yasmin Sabina Khan (YSK) is a structural engineer and author based in Chicago, Illinois. She is the daughter of Dr. Fazlur Rahman Khan [1929-1982]: structural engineer, frequently described as ‘the father of the modern skyscraper’. Fazlur Khan’s contribution to the evolution of the award-winning Hajj Terminal was integral to its success. In 2004 Yasmin published ‘Engineering Architecture: the vision of Fazlur R. Khan’, a detailed account of her father’s work, written with both technical and personal insights. Yasmin has kindly and generously permitted me to reproduce extracts from her book.(ND) One thing that’s really revealing itself through this project has been some lovely threads of parental influence. Chip Richie made the film ‘Gateway to Mecca’ with his father; Yasmin Khan became a structural engineer like her father, Dr. Fazlur Rahman Khan.&nbsp; And it was conversations about your Hajj, that you made with your mother, that inspired me to start looking more closely at my father’s archive, and the photographs of our time in Saudi. So I have you to thank for starting me on this incredible journey. Can you tell me about how you came to do your Hajj with your Mum?(BK) My Mum and Dad did the Hajj in 1994 and both of them had an amazing experience. My mum kept saying that she’d love to go again, and my Dad, who passed away in 1995, would always encourage her to take me. So when the plan was made to go, I initially wondered whether I was ready, that maybe it wasn’t the right time, spiritually and financially. You ask yourself ‘Am I ready for this?'.&nbsp; And then, of course, when you start doing a bit of research it tells you that it is very rare that you make a decision to go. It tends to be the other way round, that somehow the decision has been made for you, that it’s your turn.(ND) Can you describe coming into Jeddah?(BK) Before you enter Saudi Arabia you are meant to be in the state of Ihram, which is when you are wearing your all-white cloth. The flight leaves from here and stops in Turkey. And once you come within a certain distance, you should be in that state of Ihram, that state of intention. A lot of things in Islam are about intention, it’s a big part of it. That moment marks the transition; it’s really beautiful, everyone starting to be one. You begin to strip away all the colours and fashions. That oneness is not just about people, but of God. A lot of things in Islam are about intention, it’s a big part of it.(ND) It’s interesting that you talk of the state of Ihram. When you watch videos of pilgrims coming in now, mostly everyone is wearing white. Whereas in my Dad’s photos, nearly everyone is wearing the bright colours and prints of the countries from where they’re from. &nbsp; We landed in Jeddah early in the morning. I’d heard a lot about the rush, the amount of people and realised that I was going to be challenged during this process. I had to ask myself ‘how do I stay patient?’. (BK)&nbsp;I was expecting a massive amount of rush and bustle. But actually the space was big, and of course it’s quite cool, so it was comfortable to be in, which is something that changes as soon as you get outside into the heat. I don’t remember it seeming that impressive; but then I was also very conscious of the question ‘where is my focus meant to be?’, I was thinking about the journey to come. It’s an interesting point that at that first moment in the Hajj Terminal, I was maybe not so aware of the environment as I normally possibly am. And unlike other airports, with this one, your head is in a different zone.(ND) Structural engineer Fazlur Khan was acutely aware that a lot of people would have spent their entire life savings on going and it might be the only time they may travel by air. So he wanted to make the Terminal as ‘un-Terminal’-like as possible.(YSK) ‘From observation during the 1975 hajj, the designers estimated that 70-80 percent of the passengers were from non-industrialized countries. For this majority, many of the qualities of a Western airport would be unfamiliar; being funnelled into mobile lounges upon their arrival, or into a futuristic maze of people-movers would make the experience more stressful and disorienting. After considerable study of programmatic objectives, the designers recommended forming a shaded terminal space that provided basic comforts and a temperate environment, as opposed to an enclosed and artificial climate.’ (BK) So there is that moment of coolness and calmness before you get on the bus, head to the hotel, and then you’re out, heading to the Mosque. As soon as you get there people’s first priority is to do their first prayer. And of course, you don’t want it to be anywhere else. It’s the first time you’re going to see the Kaaba. The Qua’ran talks about the first time that you see the Kaaba: whatever prayer you make is listened to and accepted so it’s a very important moment and I think that's where many people's focus is. And I thought about my own focus, and how I am very much in between looking at the spiritual and wondering about the lives of people who are around me.(ND) I’m somewhat familiar with you being in the Mosque at Mecca because of the works that you made ‘Take These Words’ / ‘There Shall Be No Interest’). The first time I saw that work was in the Laurieston Church , on a really, really rainy night [both laugh].(BK) It goes back to what I said at the start- that you don’t make a plan. Through this process, I made a promise to myself that I wasn’t going to rush and shove to get to these places. The consensus of the black stone is that if you manage to touch it or kiss it, that it absorbs your sins. They say the stone used to be white, and through time it’s gone black. But I’d said to myself, if I have to trip over someone, or if I have to push someone to get there, that I would be uncomfortable with that. At one moment I managed to get my finger onto the tip of the top, and I realised, to go any further, I would have to use my physicality to get through. (YSK) ‘The force of this exercise regularly startles pilgrims; it was an ‘experience in vigour,’ noted Fazlur Khan.’ (BK) Same as with the piece [‘Take These Words’], on that day, I didn’t decide where I was going to go in the Mosque, the crowd was shifting me this way and that, and I just went with the crowd, and it took me to a certain point. Eventually I saw these escalators going up. And when I got to the top, that’s where I ended up filming. And again I had to wait, I don’t know for how long, and then someone moved away and I managed to step forward and then I had that view that you saw. I was very conscious that I didn’t want to be filming there the whole time, so I found a space within the architecture to place my mobile phone. I left it there and let it record whilst I did my own prayers and reflections. I didn’t decide to go to that place. You are led to these places. (ND) What a perfectly framed view. (BK) The film duration is 49 minutes 49 seconds. The number ‘7’ comes up so often in Islam&nbsp; - the 7 circulations around the Kaaba, the 7 times running between the mountains of Safa and Marwa where you recognise the role of Ishmael’s mother, to try to appreciate what she went through. &nbsp;I always find that interesting when people talk about Islam not recognising the woman’s role. But one of the most pivotal moments of Hajj is when you recognise the challenges that a mother faces, and you recognise her and pray for everyone that’s involved. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, of course he is there and is a big part of it, but a big part of it is also going back to Abraham and his time. (YSK) ‘Although the physical strain of the hajj ritual made it a strenuous journey, Fazlur Khan was strongly affected by its spiritual and historical significance. He gained, in addition, an intimate understanding of the pilgrimage that would shape his work in planning and design. The experience made him distinctly aware of the social inheritance and physical circumstances that are inseparable from Islamic, and Saudi Arabian, consciousness and strengthened his determination to make use of contextual understanding to positively affect the built environment.’(ND) Do you want to talk about the significance of placing the work [‘Take These Words’] in the Laurieston Church?(BK) It was a lot to do with the misinformation that we all have. Within Islam we recognise Moses and Jesus, not just that, but say, ‘peace be upon them’, just as you would say about the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. That they are as relevant as prophets of Islam. And both Jesus and Moses were Muslims, because Muslim is just an Arabic word for ‘one who submits to God’. So it was about looking at that inherent connection between those religions. And we all make judgement on certain things without doing any form of research or reading. (YSK) ‘He had a way of falling into conversation with people,’ colleague and fellow traveller Lynn Beedle recalled. Fazlur Khan inquired into daily routines - of an engineer, a tour guide, or a cab driver - and wondered how people viewed the world.’ Fazlur Khan inquired into daily routines - of an engineer, a tour guide, or a cab driver - and wondered how people viewed the world. (ND)...Or have conversations. I think the thing you’d said which was so powerful, I’ll quote from your website: ‘In November 2016 the Israeli authorities attempted to ban the Adhan (the call to prayer) in Jerusalem, and in an act of solidarity, the Christian church in the city of Nazareth sent out the Adhan from its own walls, protesting the Israeli restrictions on religious freedom.’&nbsp; Which takes us back to that church in the Gorbals.(BK) I always feel that within the Islamic world we struggle to get stories heard. [In 2018 Bash screened his work ‘There Shall Be No Interest’ at The Hidden Gardens, an urban green space in Pollokshields, one of Glasgow’s most multi-cultural areas. It was conceived as a place of peace, community and contemplation.] (ND) Can you talk about the Hidden Gardens showing?(BK) The Hidden Gardens was a place designed for people to have a voice, for people from different cultures, backgrounds, religions, to share those experiences in a comfortable safe way.&nbsp; It was a fantastic opportunity to show my work there. I was also conscious of how many people would come – you never know how people will receive things. But to have that sound in that place played out to quite a large audience. The calmness of the evening was really nice to feel as people observed the work. And there was also something with the weather - it had been due to happen in February but had been cancelled due to snow. (ND) And the rescheduling of it made it possible for me to come from London. (BK) So again, it was meant to be. You find that there is always a solution. To see that work in a new place, and find more ways of taking that out to different audiences, to find new ways of introducing a more nuanced way of presenting Islam to audiences, mean that The Hidden Gardens was a pivotal moment. We are always too rushed with everything, but the duration of this piece - a long take - helps tell the story in a softer way. (YSK) ‘The extent to which direct reference to vernacular architecture shaped the Hajj Terminal’s roof units is unclear. Talking about the design in 1989 for his ‘Oral History’, Gordon Bunshaft denied any influence. Khan, he asserted, had liked to imbue the fabric roof shape with this foundation; but the design team had not looked to tent shelters for guidance during the structure’s development. Yet Khan’s notes indicate that the designers were aware of the relation between the fabric roof form and that of traditional tents during schematic design and [Hajj Terminal lead structural engineer] John Zils recalled that this relation animated their work. Besides appreciating the visual resemblance of the two types of shelter once the roof unit structure began to emerge, Khan’s understanding of context could not help but further inform the design process. He had spent much of 1976 immersed in the study of Islamic architectural heritage and cultural traditions; he had performed hajj in December 1975; and he had taken shelter in the tent camps erected for the pilgrims.’ (BK) The piece is about exploring, being able to move around is key. For the Muslims in Pollokshields to see their faith represented in a way that they think is closer to what they feel, than to how other people represent it, has an impact. We had the sharing of food. And the text on the panel from the Prophet’s last sermon which was delivered after the Hajj, which does not get enough exposure or analysis, it talks very clearly about women’s rights and it talks about a kind of anti-capitalist approach of no interest. (ND) ‘There Shall Be No Interest’, which is what you named it.(BK) When I see the demonisation of Islam and question why it’s being attacked, it was a system, like Communism, that did not fit with what other people wanted to have, and what they could do to sell. So you have to look at the ideas being promoted, and by whom. (ND) One of the biggest questions that I’ve faced with the project is whether or not to feature my Dad’s photos of pilgrims in the Hajj Terminal. I learned that he was granted official permission to take them, but there’s still something of a question there.&nbsp; We already occupied a very privileged position within Saudi as white Westerners from a country that was a strategic ally.&nbsp; We lived within a camp that I now come to understand was massively, grotesquely different to the one where the actual construction workers were living, they were Bangladeshis, they were Pakistanis. The conditions that we were afforded were not afforded to those workers. So there are the photos where people were looking directly at him. In a lot of the photos, there's loads of very energetic, friendly exchange. You can see that they're looking straight at the lens. There's a dialogue going on there. And then there's other images, they're much more peaceful, but I think he was maybe using a longer lens so the pilgrim or pilgrims weren’t necessarily aware that he was taking them.(BK) I challenge and question myself many times taking pictures. I took a picture once of a guy sleeping on a wall in Bilbao. And the wall was grey. And he was wearing grey. And the only thing of colour was his slippers which were green. I took the picture and I questioned myself for a long time if I should have taken that picture. I didn’t ask him if I could take it, even though we can’t see who he is, but I didn’t ask him. If I had asked him the picture would not have remained as it was.And looking at this thing of past privilege, as long as you are looking at it now - one thing that I read that flipped my approach - historically the camera and photography was for rich people, people that were deemed to be important enough to be photographed. With social photography what you’re seeing is that people who traditionally were not deemed to be important enough, now they are represented, now they are photographed. And I think if you come from that approach and that mindset then you’re flipping that. And by zooming in to those photographs, you’re saying these people are important as well, you’re giving them prominence. So for me, it flips that conversation. And as long as that’s articulated somehow. The question of privilege that we have all had, in different ways, how do we use that in a contemporary way? It’s not to ignore it, it is to bring it up and to recognise it, and to reframe it.(ND) Where would it sit though, in relation to the photographer [my father, a non-Muslim] not being engaged in that holy act?&nbsp; You mentioned earlier, you’re already in a mindset of intention. (BK) I’ll go back to what I said at the start. I didn’t make the decision to go to Hajj, we don’t have control over that one. And what we think we know now might change. So the idea of your father being there, and those people being there, that’s part of a plan. Your father taking those photographs was meant to happen. You looking at those photographs now, 40 years later, was meant to happen. These photographs taking on another layer or journey, was meant to happen because it brings that conversation forward. It doesn’t ignore it, it brings it forward. Someone may look at those pictures and be inspired to know more about the Hajj, and know something about Islam. You don’t know where it is going to lead. So that’s the other side, if they’re not seen. They’re powerful for various reasons. Even as the act of documentation of a time and place, they’re valuable. And where they may go, and what conversations they may lead to, we don’t know yet, but that’s what we have to be open to, and that’s what work does. Work brings those conversations up. And we have to explore them. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;I didn’t make the decision to go to Hajj, we don’t have control over that one. And what we think we know now might change. Work brings those conversations up. And we have to explore them. (ND) And we do it a lot when we talk. And my Dad isn’t here to ask, there’s so much longing to have those conversations with him too.(BK) So connecting, and reconnecting is a big part of it. And like yourself, when my father passed away in 95, I went through his things a while later, his briefcase, and that inspired certain projects that I did, around the South East Asian archive, trying to discover a bit of his history that connects to my history. And the Hajj if nothing else teaches us that we are part of this massive global thing. We are all interconnected. What’s beautiful is that you are recognising something, those workers that made the terminal, that they are not forgotten. (ND) You’ve talked with your partner about going again.(BK) We talked with the kids recently, we said it would be awesome and amazing to do that. I don’t know if it would be the Hajj, but definitely the Umrah which is the smaller version. There was a documentary that was made - the visual quality is very good - it’s called ‘One day in the Haram’ but it missed the point completely, for me. It looks like it is made by the Ministry of Tourism and promotional marketing for Saudi Arabia. Fantastic visuals, but you hear no story from those workers you were talking about. So this guy in the office, he comes down, and says ‘This guy is Ibrahim and he gives the water out to all the pilgrims, and I’m going to put it on and see what that’s like, and then he goes around, giving people water. But Ibrahim, who’s been doing it for the last 15 years or whatever, doesn’t get a word in. We don’t know what he’s about. So I want to go back, Inshallah, if I get the chance, that we can go and do. (YSK) ‘The technical man must not be lost in his own technology. He must be able to appreciate life; and life is art, drama, music and most importantly people.’ (Fazlur Khan, interviewed in Engineering News-Record, 1972.)As artists and makers we do question ourselves quite often about what I should do and what I should show and we can be hesitant with those things. This idea of intention as I said, because that’s the key part, it’s not based on other people’s interpretations. If your intention is right, then everything that you choose will be right as well. (ND) Thank you for having this conversation with me today Bash, I’d better go and get a tissue. [laughs]. (BK) It’s the perfect time for it as well, being in Ramadan. The head’s in the right place.&nbsp; My voice was slightly breaking up at the start of this conversation, and yours is at the end. We’ve completed that circle. That was really really nice. + &nbsp; &nbsp; https://departures81.net/Matt-Green Thu, 20 May 2021 18:30:56 +0000 Departures 81 https://departures81.net/Matt-Green 05. Matt Green‘On secondment’Paper on board 42cm x 29.7cm Show infoHide info Matt Green is an artist and musician based in Leeds, UK. Matt has been working with visual collage for just over a year, and considers this practice analogous to his music and sound artwork that similarly investigates ‘found’ images and the materials that carry them.‘On secondment’ utilises second-hand sourced copies of key Departures ‘81 Reading Room publication ‘King Abdulaziz International Airport’ and ‘Jeddah-Old &amp; New’ by James Buchan to create a series of images inspired by camp life, the build, the heat and Jeddah. <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c43df8b263105bde780ca797c6be1dc7de8f8267a28619feae0c0f1bc210490c/This-one-first.jpg" data-mid="109607949" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c43df8b263105bde780ca797c6be1dc7de8f8267a28619feae0c0f1bc210490c/This-one-first.jpg" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f9dcaa342b8817206724700f55007ab88473cbd14caced4766b3cc7f5e054baf/This-one-second.jpg" data-mid="109607951" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f9dcaa342b8817206724700f55007ab88473cbd14caced4766b3cc7f5e054baf/This-one-second.jpg" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/343701eeab96fe2093877438132a769452eef96dcaa3cc6776ae2ed16594e39b/This-one-third.jpg" data-mid="109607953" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/343701eeab96fe2093877438132a769452eef96dcaa3cc6776ae2ed16594e39b/This-one-third.jpg" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5dc1efc95015d753735e7d238b558eace3861c84f4132f764c5cd1210c911c92/This-one-fourth.jpg" data-mid="109607950" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5dc1efc95015d753735e7d238b558eace3861c84f4132f764c5cd1210c911c92/This-one-fourth.jpg" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c17e92d5b04064293de4dfdbfc67f1dc1faed026316717eec68b9b5de5c9169e/This-one-fifth.jpg" data-mid="109607948" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c17e92d5b04064293de4dfdbfc67f1dc1faed026316717eec68b9b5de5c9169e/This-one-fifth.jpg" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a8125686b94f9769fc57d2132dac97e957ff71d49f896f4ea503f5b7591280ee/This-one-sixth.jpg" data-mid="109607952" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a8125686b94f9769fc57d2132dac97e957ff71d49f896f4ea503f5b7591280ee/This-one-sixth.jpg" /> + &nbsp; &nbsp; https://departures81.net/Ally-Wallace Thu, 20 May 2021 18:33:17 +0000 Departures 81 https://departures81.net/Ally-Wallace 06.Ally Wallace ‘Airport Logo’&nbsp; Coloured paper, 29 x 20.5 x 2 cm‘Hot Skies’ Coloured paper, 21 x 29 x 2 cm Show infoHide info Ally Wallace is a visual artist based in Glasgow. He works across a range of mediums, including sculpture, drawing, installation and video. His work mainly refers to architectural subject matter - particularly Modernism - and for this project has produced small paper sculptures, based on architectural forms which suggest sleek, aerodynamic canopies.Ally’s works for Departures ‘81 take inspiration from ‘King Abdulaziz International Airport’ by Paul Moore and Randy Fisher. ‘Airport Logo’ is inspired by the graphics of the airport’s wayfinding signage and logo designed by Bill Cannan and Lance Wyman. ‘Hot Skies’ takes inspiration from heat images of sunset and sunrise. <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/27606322f7698ded938abb97eaeb7d989a87dc0f27731447072172e4b24989dc/Ally-Wallace-1.jpeg" data-mid="109605114" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/27606322f7698ded938abb97eaeb7d989a87dc0f27731447072172e4b24989dc/Ally-Wallace-1.jpeg" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8d6b2b2c22db1f7b25d2f21c52ea541ae2a85dece9840e6789dac733ac831a75/Ally-Wallace-2.jpeg" data-mid="109605115" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8d6b2b2c22db1f7b25d2f21c52ea541ae2a85dece9840e6789dac733ac831a75/Ally-Wallace-2.jpeg" /> + &nbsp; &nbsp; https://departures81.net/Natalie-Davidson Thu, 20 May 2021 18:33:59 +0000 Departures 81 https://departures81.net/Natalie-Davidson 07. Natalie Davidson‘A drive through KAIA camp’ Moving image Show infoHide info Made using found Youtube footage of KAIA camp, uploaded by Mohammed Mishal and Abdullah Al Mamu. Featuring interviews with former KAIA camp residents Scott Ritchie (formerly of Parsons Daniel), George Craig (formerly of International Airports Projects) and Kate Craig. Natalie Davidson is a curator and creative producer from Glasgow. Natalie works within site-specific multi-disciplinary collaborative contexts, frequently examining cultural narratives, historical archives and the built environment. ▶ + &nbsp; &nbsp; https://departures81.net/Reading-Room Thu, 20 May 2021 18:35:14 +0000 Departures 81 https://departures81.net/Reading-Room 08.Reading Room Show infoHide info An edited selection of books, magazines and other printed items from my father Iain Davidson’s collection. These include: the International Airports Projects commemorative publication ‘King Abdulaziz International Airport’ by Paul Moore and Randy Fisher, national airline Saudia’s in-flight magazine ‘Ahlan Wasalan’ and [Saudi national oil company] Aramco World Magazine. <img width="640" height="930" width_o="640" height_o="930" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/98f3a6461a010dbeb976297fe2c2a62c8864a2c21dec99ac25e471624a8245c3/cvr.png" data-mid="112638687" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/640/i/98f3a6461a010dbeb976297fe2c2a62c8864a2c21dec99ac25e471624a8245c3/cvr.png" />Departures '81 Publication <img width="640" height="930" width_o="640" height_o="930" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/135da090dc2ed2f345441e45a9527b1d5bfe8b520f2c43afe17d1d07ccd8b792/Saudi-Gazette-Thumbnail-1.png" data-mid="109710422" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/640/i/135da090dc2ed2f345441e45a9527b1d5bfe8b520f2c43afe17d1d07ccd8b792/Saudi-Gazette-Thumbnail-1.png" />Saudi Gazette <img width="640" height="930" width_o="640" height_o="930" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/22779a789feb888e4d81549a70f5a4cdc456fe70c1423d4948e18da1f5a7dbff/photos-iain-davidson.png" data-mid="109419164" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/640/i/22779a789feb888e4d81549a70f5a4cdc456fe70c1423d4948e18da1f5a7dbff/photos-iain-davidson.png" />Photographs by Iain Davidson <img width="640" height="930" width_o="640" height_o="930" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9337452c9c8592afdc5a724939a6969379f2cc8d8d9d06cb2ef7b5fa7faa29ab/Ahlan-Wasahlan.jpg" data-mid="109391928" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/640/i/9337452c9c8592afdc5a724939a6969379f2cc8d8d9d06cb2ef7b5fa7faa29ab/Ahlan-Wasahlan.jpg" /> Ahlan WasahlanAn Airport for the 21st Century <img width="773" height="1123" width_o="773" height_o="1123" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/474781a984b4f0f3ab7f875cf2a20b719e640282491137e59014c67ace6b3f3d/aramco-world-magazine.jpg" data-mid="109391926" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/773/i/474781a984b4f0f3ab7f875cf2a20b719e640282491137e59014c67ace6b3f3d/aramco-world-magazine.jpg" />Aramco World Magazine A Terminal in a Tent <img width="773" height="1123" width_o="773" height_o="1123" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b8f903e8ff3db61d8eb9ec0123ef917973ed37d2311baa8291360f26a57053f9/King-Abdulaziz-International-Airport--Paul-Moore-_-Randy-Fisher.jpg" data-mid="109391927" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/773/i/b8f903e8ff3db61d8eb9ec0123ef917973ed37d2311baa8291360f26a57053f9/King-Abdulaziz-International-Airport--Paul-Moore-_-Randy-Fisher.jpg" />King Abdulaziz International Airport <img width="640" height="930" width_o="640" height_o="930" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/093031476b86a1db84c3ce52dfe6faf60399e04c655d426912cdd3165ee6d611/Engineering-News-Record.jpg" data-mid="109508668" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/640/i/093031476b86a1db84c3ce52dfe6faf60399e04c655d426912cdd3165ee6d611/Engineering-News-Record.jpg" />Engineering News-Record <img width="800" height="414" width_o="800" height_o="414" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c3b44dc7c22a85e0df0b654c22f493180d6ba14a4f68c334054960b96df7b389/Hochtief-Camp-Map.png" data-mid="109615265" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/800/i/c3b44dc7c22a85e0df0b654c22f493180d6ba14a4f68c334054960b96df7b389/Hochtief-Camp-Map.png" />KAIA Camp map + &nbsp; &nbsp; https://departures81.net/Epilogue Thu, 27 May 2021 21:32:03 +0000 Departures 81 https://departures81.net/Epilogue 09.Epilogue My memories of Jeddah are fuzzy, yet distinct. Learning to swim in the camp pool; Saudis in smart keffiyeh headdresses affectionately pinching my cheek; colourful fishes darting around my legs at the beach - are experiences that sit in sharp contrast to the life we returned to. Jeddah was a place of lifelong bonds: many of our closest family friendships were formed there.&nbsp; &nbsp; Growing up, my Dad was somewhat elusive: he worked long hours and we spent downtime largely apart. We also rarely saw eye-to eye: I’m not an easy person to live with and haven’t followed the path my parents envisaged for me. But towards the end of his life, my Dad and I were beginning to find a new and improved mutual understanding. This hopeful new chapter was to remain largely unwritten however - he died suddenly and unexpectedly just a few short months after his retirement. In 2016, inspired by conversations with my friend Bash about his pilgrimage to Mecca, I revisited my father’s photographs and mementos of our time in Saudi. I uncovered a vast and detailed archive of a construction project that speaks to all the things that pique my interest as an adult. The archive and photographs became the jumping-off points to find answers to the questions I never got to ask my Dad. I reconnected with KAIA camp friends, and made new connections with other lives touched by the Terminal: Bill Cannan, Bash Khan, Yasmin Sabina Khan and Chip Richie. As it progressed, it became clear the project was offering up exciting new possibilities and opportunities for an active dialogue with the present, courtesy of new works by Matt Green, C-Jaye Newton, Moving Still &amp; Ally Wallace.&nbsp; These not only afford us the opportunity to explore a truly multi-layered place, but have also become a way for me to have the conversations with my Dad I think we’d be having now - about contemporary art, design, geopolitics, culture and people. The Hajj Terminal is the zenith of all these things. And I thank my father, and the Terminal, for instilling that in me.Natalie Davidson + &nbsp; &nbsp;