On Tuesday, the government-run Qatar Museums revealed a new commission by the Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson.
Shadows traveling on the sea of the day (2022) have steel half-rings supporting disc-shaped shelters that are dwarfed by the surrounding desert. Half rings become whole rings when reflected in the mirrored undersides of the discs.
Eliasson said that the artwork “is an invitation to resync with the globe” since it enables people to gaze up and see themselves on the ground below.
It is a celebration of everything that was there and moving through the desert site north of Doha at the time of your visit, including people, animals, plants, and tales, as well as cultural artifacts, wind, sunshine, air, and shimmering heat, the guy stated.
The sculpture by Eliasson joins two other pieces that were commissioned in the country’s north. Slug Turtle, TemplEarth (2022) by Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto is a building made of white netting, football goal frames, and a ceramic earth globe in the center, while Maqam I, Maqam II, and Maqam III (2021) by Lebanese artist Simone Fattal are three dune-like constructions made of blue granite.
Before the FIFA World Cup, which begins on November 20, 40 new public art commissions by prominent artists like Jeff Koons, Yayoi Kusama, and KAWS were revealed by Qatar Museums in August.
Over $300 billion has been invested in the event by Qatar, despite several complaints.
The “room for self-reflection that I seek to give in my work will create alternative, fruitful avenues for us to meet each other across groups and cultures,” he hoped. He said that art should serve as “a conduit for discourse and for listening.”
“Art, unlike activism, is frequently slow and complex,” claims Eliasson.