Wender·Vista
Bubiyan Island
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileKuwait
in the northern Persian Gulf, off Kuwait's upper coast

Bubiyan Island

— — a flat country the tide writes on every day.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The largest island of Kuwait. Roughly 860 square kilometres of salt flat and mangrove, almost no inhabitants, threaded by tidal channels that the satellite reads as silver veins on grey. A causeway carries one road north from the mainland, and the new Mubarak Al Kabeer Port reaches out toward Iraq from the island's northern shore. from the studio

from the studio
Bubiyan Island
— bring it home

Bubiyan Island, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Bubiyan Island

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Bubiyan is the largest island of Kuwait, set in the northwest corner of the Persian Gulf where the Shatt al-Arab estuary meets the open sea. The island covers about 863 square kilometres of mostly flat salt marsh and intertidal mudflat, with maximum elevations under four metres. It is administered as part of Al Jahra Governorate. The Bubiyan Bridge, opened in 1983 and rebuilt after the 1990–91 Gulf War, connects the island to the Kuwaiti mainland across the Khor as-Sabiyah and remains the only road link.

— the water

Bubiyan is almost more water than land. The Khor Abdullah lies to the north between the island and Iraqi territory, the Khor as-Sabiyah to the west between Bubiyan and the mainland, and a maze of tidal creeks runs through the interior. The flats are recognised as a wetland of international importance for migratory birds, with crab plover, greater flamingo, and Socotra cormorant counted in the annual surveys. Most of the island is closed military zone, and the standing water at high tide doubles its apparent area.

— the visit

Public access to Bubiyan is restricted. Most of the island remains under the Kuwaiti military and is off-limits to civilians. The Mubarak Al Kabeer Port, under construction since 2010 on the northern tip, is the only large development on the island and will give Kuwait a deep-water container facility opposite Iraq's Faw Peninsula. The Bubiyan Bridge across the Khor as-Sabiyah is the single road link from the mainland. Birdwatchers reach the southern flats only with prior arrangement through the Kuwait Environment Public Authority.

— where
Kuwait · Al Jahra Governorate, Kuwait
— elevation
4 m · 13 ft
— position
29.7833° N · 48.3333° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
35 km S
Failaka Island
island
20 km N
Faw Peninsula
Iraqi peninsula
75 km SW
Kuwait City
capital
N
Bubiyan Island
Failaka Island
Faw Peninsula
Kuwait City
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Bubiyan Island — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Bubiyan lies in the northwest corner of the Persian Gulf, off the upper coast of Kuwait. It sits between Iraqi territory to the north across the Khor Abdullah and the Kuwaiti mainland to the west across the Khor as-Sabiyah.

About 863 square kilometres, which makes it the largest island of Kuwait and one of the largest islands in the Persian Gulf. It is almost entirely flat, with no point much above four metres in elevation.

There is no permanent civilian population. The island is mostly closed military zone, with a small garrison and a construction workforce at the Mubarak Al Kabeer Port site on the northern tip.

Public access is restricted. Birdwatchers reach the southern wetlands only with prior arrangement through the Kuwait Environment Public Authority. The Bubiyan Bridge from the mainland is the single road in.

The salt flats and tidal creeks are a wetland of international importance for migratory shorebirds, including greater flamingo, crab plover, and Socotra cormorant. Most of the island is officially designated as a protected area.

— about the piece in your home

It has carried well for customers whose families know the northern coast. Bubiyan is a recognised piece of Kuwaiti national geography, and a Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio reads as a specific gesture.

The silvered greys and tidal blues sit well in coastal-modern, desert-modern, and warm minimalist rooms. The palette is quiet, with sand and water tones that hold a wall without competing with linen or pale wood.

Above a standard sofa a single Large or a 4-tile Mural carries the wide tidal horizon across the wall. A Medium reads well above a console; a Keepsake suits a bookshelf or a desk.

Yes, in either Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and humidity-stable, so the tile works on a backsplash or shower wall as cleanly as it does framed in a hallway.

A microfibre cloth with plain water. The colour lives slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, beneath a thin glossy finish, so there is nothing to lift off.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to the studio, painted in our stained-glass and alcohol-ink visual language by Reid Wender as curator. The work is not licensed in or out.

— if this one stayed with you

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