Omar’s installation – And Thereafter – activates and transforms three key areas of Al Koot Fort; entitled 'The Transition’ (courtyard), ‘The Journey’ (back room), and ‘The Metamorphosis’ (entrance room). She heightens lived experiences of the souq through contemporary captured images and sounds, as well as incorporating archival footage. Video projections and soundscapes play in an asynchronous loops creating a new generative experience that evolves over time, celebrating contemporary Qatari heritage and all that it entails wrapped into a dreamscape of experiences.
Time-based media artist Hadeer Omar has created a contemporary response to the Al Koot Fort, which holds a unique and complex history since its construction in 1906. The artist draws upon the area surrounding the fort and uses Souq Waqif and the Msheireb district as sources of inspiration, weaving together traditional and contemporary aspects of daily life, translating and transforming them into surreal immersive environments.
Installation in progress of Hadeer Omar's and Thereafter, Al Kool Fort, March 2021. Courtesy of Alkhozama Al Thani and Maryam AlKubaisi.
'Performance in Progress' credit is courtesy of Michael Hersrud and Simone Muscolino.
The artist created the sound and light immersions in collaboration with Michael Hersrud and Simone Muscolino of Sonic Jeel and Katia Kolovea.
And Thereafter is curated by Maryam Hassan Al-Thani. It is part of the larger Contemporary Heritage project where sites of cultural importance are activated by artists Shaha Al Khulaifi at the Al Rayyan Palace and Mashael Al Hejazi at the Al Najada House.
Initiated and organised by the Tasweer festival, this installation is made possible through the partnership with Souq Waqif and the Private Engineering Office.
