Contemporary Rock Art or Unwelcome Graffiti in Fujairah?

Fujairah Rocks

The emirate of Fujairah is a region of the United Arab Emirates where huge numbers of petroglyphs have been discovered and studied, thanks in no small measure to the efforts of archaeologist, Dr. Michele Ziolkowski.

Author, Peter Hellyer, says that these rock images (pictured) provide ‘windows to the past’.

They shed light on the life and thought of those who lived in Fujairah thousands of years ago.

Contemporary Rock Art

There are several pieces of 'contemporary rock art' in the emirate of Fujairah like the painting (pictured below) on the mountains at Thoban. They are not carved or engraved like petroglyphs but presumably by using spray cans of coloured paint they might be called pictographs.

Often the art work in Fujairah and Khor Fakkan is drawn large enough to be visible to those who drive along the road. They take many forms and include facial images (usually male), a coloured map of the UAE or a series of patriotic words in Arabic.

Thankfully, those who have created different expressions of this contemporary rock art have displayed some degree of artistic talent but if every climber in the Hajars used their spray cans whenever they saw a smooth rock face there would be a public outcry and calls against this visual pollution.

What makes public rock painting a work of art and when do images and colour destroy the beauty and naturalness of the landscape?

The workers and caretakers at Fujairah’s Wadi Wurayah are thinking about effective ways to remove unwelcome rock art(?) (pictured below) and how to deter anyone who has an itch to write or paint in stone.

What do you think about ‘contemporary rock art’ like that which is pictured at Thoban—skilful outdoor art that should be welcomed or graffiti that should be discouraged or outlawed?

Geoff Pound

This article is also posted on the Fujairah in Focus-Facebook Page.