Sophia Al-Maria, still from Black Friday, 2016. Digital video projected vertically, color, sound; 16:36 min, courtesy of the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Qatari artist Sophia Al-Maria recently launched her first solo exhibition in the United States at the renowned Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Set to run until October 31st, the exhibition features two integrated works by Al-Maria—a digital projection video titled Black Friday and an installation that features a mound of sand and flickering, discarded electronic devices titled Litany. The works depict a different perspective on the growing mall culture across the region.
The exhibition examines how the popular shopping destinations have become embedded in the social fabric of the region. The video focuses on an unoccupied mall in Doha, Qatar, and flicks between eerie scenes of a woman walking through the abandoned structure dressed in a black abaya, and shots of a father and his child at they stroll the ghostly halls. The footage is accompanied by a voiceover courtesy of actor Sam Neill, who chants, “This is where the glamorous heart of evil is born.” Video stills showing a defeated, cloaked woman sprawled face down on the cold marble floor punctuate the thought-provoking production.
Sophia Al-Maria’s exhibition will run until October 31st at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.
