The sale with strings attached

The instruments, modified and customised by UAE-based artists, went up for sale at the Hard Rock Cafe in Festival City.

Art for art’s sake: Jalal Luqman had cut his Les Paul guitar into pieces. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National
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DUBAI // Eighteen electric guitars that had been hand-customised by UAE-based artists were auctioned off yesterday.

The Gibson Les Pauls, E335s and SGs – plus one signed by the rock singer Lenny Kravitz – went under the hammer at the Vision of Sound sale, held at the Hard Rock Cafe in Festival City.

The instruments were valued between Dh3,000 and Dh10,000. They each featured various levels of customisation – from oil painting to the more abstract.

One Emirati artist, Jalal Luqman, sold a Dh6,800 Les Paul that he had cut into pieces before rebonding it with steel plates and lacquer.

“I cut it, mutilated it and then put it back together again – kind of like a bad relationship,” said Mr Luqman.

However, he said he had his heart in his mouth at first. “Approaching this, was exactly like approaching bungee jumping,” he said.

“Your body tells you you’re not supposed to do this. When I received the guitar at first, it was a flawless piece of human excellence.

“My body, brain and soul were telling me not to harm it. It was only after I cut the first bit off, I was able to go in there and go crazy with the rest of it.”

The auction was organised by Gibson, with some of the proceeds going to the company’s official charity, Peace One Day and the rest to breast cancer charity Pink Caravan. A small amount went to the owners.

The curator of the show, Emirati artist Mo Abedin, contacted dozens of local artists. “The response was overwhelming,” he said. “As soon as I sent out the email, I got loads of replies back immediately saying ‘hell yeah’.”

Each donor was given a free guitar and case by Gibson.

Some of the guitars remained unsold and will be put into a catalogue and sold for a fixed price.

mcroucher@thenational.ae