DUBAI: A new public artwork in the UAE wrapping the former Dubai Zoo site is inviting residents to reflect on the city’s natural heritage while looking ahead to the landmark’s next chapter.
Puerto Rican-born multidisciplinary artist Solimar Miller has unveiled “Flora of Light,” a series of 12 original works displayed across 710 meters of hoardings surrounding the historic site.
Commissioned by investment firm Shamal through its Tamayoz cultural patronage program, the installation celebrates the indigenous flora and fauna that once characterized the area and will remain on display for the next two years.
For Miller, the commission was deeply personal.
“I moved here in May 1997. The Dubai Zoo was one of the focal points of the city at that time,” she said. “It was a place we would visit often. It’s also about celebrating and kind of tracing back history.”
The artist, who has lived in Dubai for nearly three decades and married into an Emirati family, drew on both personal memories and stories passed down through relatives while developing the series.
Commissioned by Shamal through its Tamayoz cultural patronage program, the installation celebrates the indigenous flora and fauna that once characterized the area. (Supplied)
“I thought, okay, I need to trace the landscape, go back, kind of imagine how it was before the zoo was here too,” she said. “It’s about celebrating the heritage, the local flora and fauna.”
Known for her ecological storytelling, Miller’s practice centers on documenting indigenous trees and species increasingly threatened by urban development.
Her artworks often incorporate extensive field observation, spending time studying trees and landscapes before translating them into sketches and prints.
“If I go and sit next to a mulberry tree, like the locals call it a toot tree, then I’m observing. I’m kind of communing with that tree,” she explained. “It’s a time of reflection and also observation and appreciation.”
The installation also carries an environmental message. Having witnessed Dubai’s rapid transformation over the past 29 years, Miller hopes the artworks encourage young people to value and protect the UAE’s natural environment.
“I’ve seen the landscape change immensely,” she said. “It’s very important that younger generations respect and want to preserve the natural landscape and plant more trees.”
As the former zoo site evolves into a low-rise residential community, “Flora of Light” creates a visual bridge between memory, nature and the future of one of the city’s most recognizable locations for its long-term residents.
