A thought-provoking exhibition by Italian artist Francesco Vezzoli has been unveiled in the Middle East for the first time at Qatar’s Katara Cultural Village.

The “Museum of Crying Women,” which opened last week at the Qatar Museums Authority Gallery in Katara, depicts iconic female figures from the past century, including Lady Gaga, Elizabeth Taylor and others with “tears” flowing from their eyes.

But they are not just ordinary tears – some, for example, consist of sparkles and bling. Speaking to media, Vezzoli said that his art was created keeping in mind that celebrities also have private lives. Gulf Times reports him as saying:

“In many parts of the world women used to engage in needle work which is for me an emotional painting. It is a counter part for their public identity. The private persona has emotions and those emotions are expressed in private and the tears represent those emotions… The tears represent all such atrocities all around the world which we generally do not see.”

The exhibition is on through Nov. 30. Thoughts?

Credit: Photos by Penny Yi Wang