By Noimot Olayiwola/Staff Reporter
Art enthusiasts in Qatar and the region are in for a treat as the first of its kind solo exhibition in the Middle East ‘Saraab’ (mirage) showcasing some newly commissioned intricate works of art by one of the pre-eminent artists of this era - Cia Guo-Qiang - begins today at the Mathaf Arab Museum of Modern Art.
Curated by Mathaf director Wassan al-Khudhairi, the exhibition features more than 60 works installed throughout the museum, including seventeen newly-commissioned pieces, a selection of recent works on paper, canvas and porcelain as well as documentary videos on the making of the exhibition and the artist’s previous works.
The newly commissioned works offer ideas about connections and ruptures between Doha and Quanzhou - the birth place of the artist - as well as locations in the wider Arab world and China.
On view at the Mathaf until May 2012 as part of Saraab are works that illuminates the long standing but little-known multi-layered relationship between China and the Arab world dating back to the ancient maritime Silk road.
Saraab begins outside the museum with the new work titled ‘Homecoming’, which is an installation of some 62 pieces of igneous rocks from Quanzhou.
Carved on the rocks are Arabic inscriptions copied from the tombstones of Quanzhou’s historic Arab community and the rocks symbolises a homecoming for Muslims in distant lands from the past millennium, offering solace and closure to their long-awaited voyage home.
The translations of some of the Arabic inscriptions include Qur’anic verses and Hadith sayings such as “everything on earth shall perish”, “everyone will have a taste of death” and “the beginning is a short stay, the middle is a struggle and the end is destruction”.
In the ground floor galleries are a series of new works created specially for Saraab by Guo-Qiang, reflecting Chinese and Arab culture while tracing the maritime route from ancient Arabia to Quanzhou as well as echoing the botanical patterns seen in Islamic decorative art and manuscripts, ancient icons as well as traditions.
Some of the new masterpieces being featured at the exhibition include ‘Endless’ (three rocking boats), ‘Route’ (gunpowder drawing across a rocky surface resembling desert plains), ‘Miniature Series (eight distinct gunpowder drawings on paper mounted on panels featuring rich, decorative patterns after Islamic miniature paintings and embroidery on Qatari women abayas) ‘Flying Together’ (installation of a lifelike camel and 27 falcons, two icons of Arab culture, suspended in the gallery) ‘Fragile’ (a 3m long porcelain mural of 480 individual panels) and ‘Ninety-nine Horses’ (a mirage-like installation consisting of 4m by 18m gunpowder drawings of Arabian horses galloping across the desert towards the searing sun with another 99 small, gold-leafed horses floating mid-air in front of the paper, dappling the sun with shadows).
‘Flying Together’ marks the first time the artist has incorporated porcelain on a large scale into his work with gunpowder and it is the first time also that he has used gunpowder for calligraphy.
As part of the exhibition is a dream-like video installation of Al Shaqab showing how Arabian horses, viewed and valued as cultural symbols, are being cared for on a daily basis.
On the second floor of the museum are the artist’s diverse selection of works from the past 20 years such as ‘Black Fireworks’ series (2001-2008), ‘Man, Eagle and Eye in the Sky’ (2003), ‘Impression Oil Drawings’ (2001-2002) and ‘Danger Book: Suicide Fireworks’ (2008).
A multi-talented artist whose work has crossed multiple mediums within art including drawing, installations, video and performance art, Guo-Qiang was born in 1957 in Quanzhou in the Chinese province of Fujian and was trained in stage design at the Shanghai Theatre Academy.
The public opening of the exhibition today will be preceded by a large-scale explosion event titled ‘Black Ceremony’, which will be demonstrated live using a total of 8,300 black smoke shells fitted with computer chips courtesy of Guo-Qiang studio.
General admission to the Mathaf costs QR25 while entry is free for children below 16 years and students with valid educational institution identity card.
Mathaf opening hours on Friday are 3pm-9pm while on Saturday and Sunday, visitors can enjoy the works of the artist from 11am to 6pm. The exhibition is closed on Mondays.
