Reem Al Mubarak's 'What We Left In The Sandbox' Exhibition in Abu Dhabi Explores Memory Through Childhood Objects

The simple act of popping bubble wrap, the tactile sensation of sand, or the sight of a common plastic chair can evoke vivid childhood memories, often lost to the passage of time. These everyday items are central to Emirati artist Reem Al Mubarak's latest solo exhibition, titled 'What We Left In The Sandbox.' The exhibition, which opened at Rizq Art Gallery on Abu Dhabi's Reem Island on Friday and runs until January 10, delves into themes of memory, play, and the formative experiences that shape our identities.

Featuring interactive artworks crafted from familiar materials, the exhibition encourages visitors to reconnect with their childhoods through sensory engagement, movement, and play. Curated by Emirati architect and researcher Azza Aboualam, the show critically examines the fallibility of memory and how individuals reconstruct their pasts using objects and experiences.

Al Mubarak shared that the inspiration for the project stemmed partly from a personal observation: modern life, despite its numerous documentation tools, offers fewer opportunities for creating enduring memories. She noted, “Why do I remember so much of my time at school or as a kid? Because we used to [have] a lot of experiences together. Now we're bound to just have a call or grab a coffee, but no experiences that make me remember the full scene.” This realization has influenced her interactions with her nieces and nephew, prioritizing shared activities over shopping or mall visits, as she believes shared experiences leave a more profound impact than mere conversations.

The exhibition is designed for active participation. Visitors are invited to interact with artworks that incorporate materials such as bubble wrap, sand, and objects commonly associated with childhood games. A sandcastle within the gallery is intentionally scaled to a child's perspective, requiring adults to stoop to enter. Another piece transforms a photograph into a metal sliding puzzle, challenging visitors to reassemble fragmented images that never quite return to their original state. The exhibition also includes acrylic pieces, plastic chairs, and elements inspired by games like tic-tac-toe, utilizing objects that may hold diverse associations across different generations.

Aboualam explained that the exhibition layout is intentionally unstructured, allowing visitors to follow their intuition and discover connections organically. “As with childhood and exploration, I wanted the visitors to be guided by the artworks and to see what actually attracts them first,” she stated. The tactile nature of the exhibition aims to foster engagement with the surroundings rather than mere documentation. Aboualam observed that while people frequently photograph their experiences, these images often receive minimal attention later. She believes, “I think one or two moments would be sufficient, in my very personal opinion. If someone recalls, 'Oh, I remember when I sat on that chair,' or 'I remember my childhood home' … once we instigate a memory or unlock it, take as many photos as you want.”

Al Mubarak concurs that photography alone cannot fully convey the experience of her work. “Even if you show up, take a picture of every artwork and leave, you've not experienced it at all,” she remarked. She hopes the gallery journey will spark conversations, enabling visitors to contribute their own interpretations and associations to the artworks.

Conversations during Al Mubarak's recent residency at Abu Dhabi's Cultural Foundation served as a significant source of inspiration, sometimes leading her to recreate experiences that were not her own. An anecdote about riding a bicycle over bubble wrap, popping the bubbles in a straight line, prompted Al Mubarak to replicate the action in her studio and create a mold from it, resulting in one of the blue artworks in the exhibition. “It became ours, and I recreated her own memory and now it became mine because I forever remember me grabbing the bike and doing it in my studio,” she explained.

The exhibition builds upon the experimental approach Al Mubarak adopted during her six-month residency at the Cultural Foundation, where she explored underutilized materials like bubble wrap and sands sourced from various UAE locations. This creative process also led her to re-evaluate her existing body of work, analyzing recurring themes and writing an essay titled 'The Thinking Archive' to question her attachment to certain objects. She describes the resulting exhibition as a synthesis of personal research, hands-on experimentation, and the collective experiences of others. “I kept telling my family, the work is not mine. It's everyone else's conversations [that] came into place.”

Another conversation highlighted the diverse meanings attributed to everyday materials. When asked about her earliest memory of aluminum foil, a friend initially struggled to recall anything, eventually remembering flattening it to use as pretend money, a memory that perhaps foreshadowed her later career as a businesswoman. Al Mubarak, in contrast, remembered using foil to craft toys for children. This exchange underscored the varied interpretations people assign to the same material and how childhood experiences can influence adult trajectories.

'What We Left In The Sandbox' also showcases the synergy between two Emirati creatives working across different fields. Al Mubarak, an artist, author, and curator, founded Studio Untitled, recognized as the UAE's first female-only artist studio space, and has published four poetry collections. Aboualam, who became the first Emirati woman to curate the UAE National Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2025, presented 'Pressure Cooker,' an exhibition exploring food security and architecture in arid regions.

Aboualam has observed a growing presence of Emirati artists and designers, coupled with an increased willingness to experiment with physical materials. She speculates that this renewed focus on tangible objects might be a reaction to the rise of artificial intelligence, though she emphasizes this is her personal view.

Al Mubarak found the most rewarding aspect of the exhibition to be witnessing visitors share their own memories evoked by the artworks. One visitor recounted how the bubble wrap brought back the forgotten joy of popping its bubbles. The artist intentionally refrains from overtly detailing her personal history in the works, aiming to provide visitors the freedom to forge their own connections. While she is open to sharing her memories through dialogue, she believes the artworks should resonate universally, irrespective of a visitor's background. “You need to show something and respect the audience enough to relate to it and feel included.” Ultimately, she hopes visitors depart with a sense of belonging and a more profound takeaway than a mere photograph. “I'd love for people to feel like they belong in a place one way or another.”