The Only Way Out Is Through: The Twentieth Line: Curated by Shumon Basar

The Only Way Out Is Through: The Twentieth Line is a project marking The Third Line’s 20th anniversary. Consisting of works from every artist represented by the gallery; archival and statistical material; and a series of pop-up sales, this retrospective exhibition time travels to multiple beginnings and parallel histories of Dubai, the UAE, the region and the world.

THE ONLY WAY OUT IS TRUE

In online parlance, the phrase “the only way out is through” has gained mythical meme status. On the one hand, the saying is called upon in times of hardship, such as aching grief or impossible adversity. Equally, it is a fatalist admission of real-world facts—sisters with that other ubiquitous piece of self-consoling: “it is what it is.”

Works are arranged in four mini-epochs: 

• 2005—2009 The Third Line’s opening in Al Quoz warehouse/the Curator’s first Dubai visit, up to the 

global financial crisis

• 2010—2015 Local economic downturn, regional uprisings and the rise of social media
• 2016—2020 The Third Line’s relocation in expanded Alserkal Avenue, up to the 

COVID19 pandemic

• 2021—2025 Post-COVID, up to current political, economic, and humanitarian “polycrises”

A timeline runs around the galleries’ floors, delineating key historical events—some of which are portrayed on the walls. Statistical analytics (researched by Tara Timberman) provide an introduction and coda to the show, along with a work by Youssef Nabil entitled The End.