|
Around the fire Interviews installation Doha - Qatar, 2022 At an early stage of the research, several interviews with VCU’s students and staff (all 20+ years of age) were conducted randomly to ascertain opinions on “the mosque as a public space in Qatar”. Interview participants included frequent worshipers of mosques, people of the Muslim community, and non-Muslims. Interviewees highlighted the importance of the historical role of mosques in Qatar, and how their presence through time was and still is felt to be a monumental symbol of Qatar’s culture and religion. |
|
Another interviewee mentioned the mosque as one place for all prayers, which she described more as a comfort spot than a place of duty. Lastly, an interviewee suggested the broader aspect of a “mosque as a community center”, in which the space is used to gather. He explained that the mosque is the place where he would see his neighbors, his nearby friends, and regular worshipers who were initially strangers but had become some of his closest friends. |
These findings highlight how significant the mosque is to Qatari locals and Muslim expats. More specifically, it is the reminiscence of the mosque as a community space for social gatherings that reflects social unity.
Comments from these interviews were displayed in an installation as projections on a hanging tilted cube. Each interview is projected onto an individual surface of the hanging cube, allowing for viewers to go around in a circle following the surface in color, and audio. The circular movement represents the idea of the first human public spaces: gathering around the fire in a circle. Furthermore, the installation is designed so as to form a united circle with white pillows assembled around the hanging cube. Each face of the cube projects one interviewee with color and audio at a time, while the rest of the five faces remain muted in black & white until it is their turn to come alive. In this way viewers are forced to be active and kinetic, interacting with each other in order to experience the exhibition to its full extent.
Comments from these interviews were displayed in an installation as projections on a hanging tilted cube. Each interview is projected onto an individual surface of the hanging cube, allowing for viewers to go around in a circle following the surface in color, and audio. The circular movement represents the idea of the first human public spaces: gathering around the fire in a circle. Furthermore, the installation is designed so as to form a united circle with white pillows assembled around the hanging cube. Each face of the cube projects one interviewee with color and audio at a time, while the rest of the five faces remain muted in black & white until it is their turn to come alive. In this way viewers are forced to be active and kinetic, interacting with each other in order to experience the exhibition to its full extent.