The Circularity of the Moment

At the Jameel Art Centre in Dubai, the exhibition Global Positioning System approaches mobility as a cultural, political and imaginary experience, calling into question the very idea of orientation in a world governed by networks, infrastructures and accelerated flows. Borrowed from the language of technology, the title becomes an unstable metaphor: rather than pointing to a fixed position, it suggests a fragile system, prone to error, deviation and interpretation. The exhibition brings together works by international artists who examine roads, bridges, maps, vehicles and navigation systems as devices charged with symbolic power. The works move through real and mental landscapes, focusing on interrupted routes, difficult crossings, circular paths and promises of movement that often translate into immobility or repetition. Mobility is not presented as a universal right, but as an uneven experience shaped by political, economic and geographical boundaries. In many works, infrastructures emerge as silent protagonists. Highways, railways, bridges and transport systems appear as ambiguous architectures, designed to connect yet equally capable of excluding. Maps, traditionally tools of orientation, are shown as partial, subjective and at times flawed constructions, closer to narrative than to any neutral representation of territory. A recurring element is the sense of circularity. Several works evoke movements that lead to no final destination, looping back on themselves and challenging the notion of linear progress. In this context, technology is not celebrated as a solution, but examined as a language that promises precision and control while exposing vulnerability and dependence.