Carousel designed by Iraqi artist Dia Azzawi opens at MIA park
Qatar Museums (QM) has unveiled an iconic carousel designed by renowned Iraqi artist Dia Azzawi at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) park, reported The Peninsula.
This latest installation, titled ‘Enchanted East’, forms part of QM’s growing public art offering and will join the expanding collection of world-class public artworks on show by QM.
The unique carousel features 40 beautifully designed animal "seats" that are inspired by MIA's iconic permanent collection.
Dia Azzawi was also inspired by Islamic arabesque, Arabic calligraphy and famous carpets from Islamic civilization when creating this magnificent installation.
The carousel, which took five days to install, will now have a permanent home at MIA park, and is located between the children’s play area and the cafe.
Khalid Yousef Al Ibrahim, Consultant at Qatar Museums, said: "At Qatar Museums, we continue to deliver our promise of creating cultural experiences outside of our museum walls for everyone to interact with and enjoy.
"Dia Azzawi is a significant, leading artistic figure and also a long standing friend of Qatar Museums, and we’re proud to exhibit his works in Qatar,” said the official.
The installation comes ahead of a major retrospective exhibition of the work of Dia Azzawi, which will open simultaneously in Qatar at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art and QM Gallery Al Riwaq in Doha, from 16 October 2016 – 16th April 2017.
Dia Azzawi is internationally recognised as one of the pioneers of modern Arab art.
His exhibition, which showcases over 350 works across fifty years and a range of media, aims to map an itinerary of modernism and profiles the practice of the Iraqi artist.
The retrospective will be organised into two parts, with each one tracing a trajectory of the artist’s practice: one charting the relation between image and text in Azzawi’s work, and the other following the artist’s engagement with the key moments in the political history of modern Iraq and the Arab world.
Courtesy: thepeninsulaqatar.com
We like the design and will visit tonight. Joys
As Pablo once said "“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”