"The 3 Orbs" is a photography exhibition and an initiative between artist/photographer Jalal Abuthina and Bentoya Kitchen, a Japanese restaurant on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai to support showcasing locally produced artwork outside conventional art spaces in the city, and to present and have the work available for purchase in a more accessible and affordable manner to the general public. The exhibition is on till 21st December 2012.

I'm quite pleased this exhibition is being held in a resaurant and not in a typical gallery because we don't have enough public spaces or spaces that aren't galleries that showcase and exhibit art, especially by Dubai based artists.

The exhibition centres around a sci-fi story about random sightings of three mysterious, unidentified flying objects that have been appearing throughout and above Dubai over the past 10 months. The series combines left-field public installation work, and forced perspective camera tricks that have been woven into a sci-fi themed visual narrative that can be read alongside the exhibition at the restaurant.All the photographs are genuine captures and have not been digitally re-created or manipulated.

The 3 Orbs series is a collection of photographs related to random sightings of 3 unidentified "orb" resembling objects that have been seen in various locations throughout Dubai, since they were first reported being seen by residents in February 2012.
Despite substantial video and photographic evidence by independent witnessing sources that has been submitted to the local authorities and international press, absolutely no explanation or information related to the objects has been publicly provided. Since March, military aircraft activity over the city has also increased drastically in activity, also with no reason or explanation publicly announced as to why it is happening.
What they are, where they came from, and what their purpose is , is still unknown and shrouded in complete mystery. Despite drastic increases in sightings over the past few months, all reports by residents related to the sightings have involved and described 3 different coloured objects. All with the exception of one particular sighting by a security guard at an abandoned construction site in Jumierah Lake Towers, who came across something entirely different…

Here are a couple of images from Bentoya. All the photographs from the series are available as postcards and a selection of limited edition framed prints can be found on the ground floor walls of the restaurant.

The food is very good at Bentoya, so a perfect excuse to grab a bite, look at some new art and possibly make a purchase or two. Please do pay a visit and spread the word and do your part to support independent artists.