The Teaching Tree by Muhannad Shono is a large-scale installation covered in dried and painted palm fronds and animated by pneumatics; the ambiguous form pierces through the length of the space and intermittently expands and contracts as if breathing. This work emerges from the artist’s investigation of ‘the line’ and its dichotomous potential for both creation and destruction. Shono’s practice is driven by his rejection of rigidity and his questioning of truths and ontologies as embodied in the power of the line. In The Teaching Tree, Shono builds upon the fundamental impulse of his practice, responding to personal experience, tradition, mythology and the natural world with his exploration of the line and its (re)generative potentialities. It also transmits a message of wisdom – the tree grows as a statement of resilience in the face of the forces that attempt to limit its potential.

TheAimes was perfect for this project, positioned between the Middle East and Italy with the requisite skills and experience to manage a logistically complex crossover of cultures and artistic worlds. We were responsible for managing an entire team of artwork producers, content developers, translators, suppliers and designers as well as operations and logistics teams – all the while keeping the project thoroughly aligned with the curatorial concept and artist’s vision.