Ocean to Gulf: Dubai's Mondoir Art Gallery hosts Maldivian artist sisters

Mondoir Art Gallery in Downtown Dubai will soon be hosting an upcoming exhibition (Sept. 13-30), supported by the Embassy of the Republic of Maldives in UAE. The show, titled Cracks & Bloom, presents the work of artist sisters Raya and Raniya Mansoor. Cracks & Bloom is a visual dialogue between the two sisters - an intimate exploration of identity, memory, and emotional growth.

- Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

Though each artist's voice is distinct, their works unfold in tandem, reflecting a shared journey shaped by parallel experiences and personal transformation.

The exhibition attempts to capture what it means to grow alongside someone: evolving through closeness and distance, tension and empathy. The paintings navigate layered and binary emotional terrains - self and other, connection and separation, inheritance and change. Together, the works invite viewers to reflect on their own shifting identities and the quiet, subterranean relationships that shape who we become. Raya Mansoor is an Economics graduate and self-taught artist from the Maldives; she is represented by Oevaali Art Gallery. Her work blends abstract, expressionist, and contemporary styles, creating a visual language uniquely hers.

Her early work explored the beauty of ocean life. As her artistic journey evolved, she shifted towards more expressive and bold uses of colour, creating pieces that evoked energy, movement, and emotion. Raya's work invites viewers and collectors to experience the profound connection between nature and feelings through colour. Raniya is a Politics graduate and a self-taught contemporary artist, also from the Maldives. Her practice moves between two distinctive styles: symbolism in vivid ultramarine, where blue, form and texture explore themes of memory, identity, emotion and belonging; and abstract expressionism, where layers and marks search for balance, clarity and resolution. Both approaches are guided by an intuitive process, referencing feeling and lived experience.