Ranjit Hoskote
The installation of ‘Seeroo fi al ardh’ – the final work of the late acclaimed artist Maqbool Fida Husain – in Qatar Foundation is “a strong and glorious statement” of Qatar’s growing profile as an international hub of arts and culture, according to Ranjit Hoskote, a poet, art critic, cultural theorist, and independent curator.
“‘Seeroo fi al ardh’ is a strong and glorious statement of Qatar’s rising profile as a global hub for the arts and culture. It embodies Qatar’s openness and responsiveness to creativity, beauty, and excellence in every field of cultural expression,” Hoskote told The Peninsula.
The artwork highlights the progress of humanity on land, in air, and sea, and their inclination to utilize the surrounding resources to achieve their goals. It tells the tale of how first nature, then machines, advanced people’s ambitions throughout the Arab region.
“Husain’s final artwork, the posthumously realised ‘Seeroo fi al ardh’ is a tribute to this great artist’s kaleidoscopic creativity. As an installation, it brings together the energies of the various arts – image, colour, movement, tableau, drama, pattern. Here, we see all the artistic practices that nourished Husain in action – painting, sculpture, toy-making, theatre, architecture, and cinema. It is a summation of his oeuvre, a grand conclusion,” said Hoskote.
According to Hoskote, ‘Seeroo fi al ardh’ is an inspiration to the local art scene.
“As a vital element in the physical as well as the cultural landscape of Doha, I believe ‘Seeroo fi al ardh’ will act as an inspiration to the local art scene. I am certain that it will act as a beacon to artists, urging them to stretch their imaginative capacities - in terms of its scale, its artistic ambition, and its spirit of taking on fresh conceptual, aesthetic and technological challenges,” he said.
Commissioned by H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, ‘Seeroo fi al ardh’ has been permanently housed at QF’s Education City since December 2019.
“To the great credit of Qatar Foundation, it has taken this grand and challenging project to fruition, allowing us to celebrate M.F. Husain’s vision a decade after his passing,” said Hoskote.
Hoskote, also a close associate of M.F. Hussain, curated Horses of the Sun, the first large-scale exhibition of M.F. Husain’s work in Doha, for the Mathaf Museum of Modern Art in 2019.
“It was a retrospective in its ambition and included his work from across diverse media – ranging from painting and drawing to sculpture, tapestries, graphics, his collaboration with the Pritzker Prize-winning architect B V Doshi, and cinema,” he said.
“I see Husain as a bridge between Qatar and India, and he symbolises the endeavour, at Mathaf, Qatar Museums, and Qatar Foundation, to embrace artists from a wide region stretching from Morocco and Mali in the west to China and Indonesia in the east, and also audiences from around the planet,” he added.
