‘Prada Oasis and Damien Hirst’s Pharmacy Juice Bar’ opens at MIA Park

The “Prada Oasis and Damien Hirst’s Pharmacy Juice Bar” opened at the Museum of Islamic Art park yesterday.Britist artist Hirst’s “Relics” exhibition is also being held at the Al Riwaq centre, which will last until January 22, 2014.    Conceived in a collaborative effort among Damien Hirst, Miuccia Prada and Qatar Museums Authority chairperson HE Sheikha al-Mayassa bint Hamad al-Thani, the installation - inspired by a traditional Arab encampment - will be open until November 13. “Damien Hirst’s Pharmacy Juice Bar” is a reinterpretation of his famous “Pharmacy Restaurant” designed by the artist in London in 1998. The installation draws upon the traditions of a Bedouin tent, but reinterpreting it in the style of a modern-day pharmacy. The “Prada Oasis” interior is an original revisitation of the brand’s stores featuring a display of “Entomology”, a limited-production range of bags designed by Prada and Hirst. The “Entomology” range takes one of the most iconic shapes of Prada’s production and cross-fertilises it with Hirst’s provocative iconography. Made in a limited production of 20 pieces, the bags will be sold through a silent auction over 10 days at the “Prada Oasis and Damien Hirst’s Pharmacy Juice Bar” (November 3 to 13). Proceeds from the sale of the “Entomology” bags will be donated to Reach Out to Asia, a non-profit organisation aiming to promote primary and secondary education across Asia.Made in nine different colours, the bag is a clear Plexiglas shell in which are immersed a variety of insects chosen by Hirst: Campanotus giganteum, Nephile pilipes, Prosopocoilus occipitalis, Eupholus cuvieri and Pachyrhyncus orbifer. Embellished with a 1-micron gold-plated rigid frame, insect-shaped embroidery in sequins, crystals and feathers and details in three different colours, each bag is named for a different insect species. This is a further tribute the artist pays to the animal world, which is an endless source of inspiration and the ideal artistic medium for his exploration of the passions and fears of human beings.