Doha: Two remarkable and captivating exhibitions which take you on a self-discovery journey and gives a glimpse of the country’s upcoming car museum are still ongoing at the National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ).
Internationally renowned Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist “Your Brain to Me, My Brain to You,” and A Sneak Peek at Qatar Auto Museum Project will run until December 20 and January 20, 2023 respectively. Both are free to attend but a booking must be made at NMoQ website only for the first exhibit.
“Your Brain to Me, My Brain to You” is Rist’s first video installation in the Middle East which visitors will embark on a journey of self-discovery through a multi-sensory experience that inspires introspection and awe. NMoQ partnered with the Ministry of Public Health and Hamad Medical Corporation to organise the event that spotlights the importance of mental health.
The exhibit features three parts – first is Rist’s “pixel forest” that comprised 12,000 LED lights strung on cables throughout the gallery. These represent neurons which constantly fire and communicate with each other. The pulsing resin-encased bulbs are programmed in choreography with a soundscape and featuring abstract footage of Qatar’s landscape.
This is then followed by a black canvas room where you can write or draw using glow in the dark marker your thoughts and emotions. Afterwards is the programme’s area where a video is on loop discusses mental health. For group visits, there will be exercises on meditation and breathing.
Artist Pipilotti said she used six songs that are in-sync with the “pixels.” One was sung by her, one music by a Palestinian oud musician Clarissa Bitar, and the rest are in collaboration with her friends. “I want that people see themselves, that they think when they go in, they did it themselves or it reminds them of certain moods and they feel themselves mirrored [through the LED lights]. All of that – it’s actually my brain, it’s me there; that would be my main vision,” she said.
Once the museum installation has been concluded, it will be moved to Dadu, Children’s Museum of Qatar as a permanent display.
A Sneak Peek at Qatar Auto Museum Project speaks on what the public can expect of the Qatar Auto Museum (QAM) which will sit on 30,000sqm at the old building of Doha Exhibition Centre at Al Gassar.
Presently, at Mawater Gallery at NMoQ, it boasts three iconic vintage cars from Qatar Museums’ collection. QAM brings the country’s car community under one roof and one mission: to drive culture forward and to inspire the next generation of innovators, designers, engineers, collector, and policymakers through shared passion for cars.
The indoor display features three iconic vintage cars which are 1936 Ferrari 250 GTO Berlinetta, considered the greatest Ferrari ever made and one of the most valuable of all collector cars; 1936 Pontiac Plexiglass Deluxe Six “Ghost Car,” which is the first transparent car built in America; and the 1949 Delahaye 175 S Roadster described as a moving sculpture and one of the most outstanding and grandiose post-war coachbuilt cars in existence.
QAM Acting Director, Dr. Alkindi Aljawabra said, “What we are displaying here is the concept design which is the second stage of the project. This year, we will finalise the design of the museum. QAM will bring science and technology and cars altogether in one place.”
