Photos by Navin Sam and Qatar Museums
To mark the upcoming 24th Men’s Handball World Championships in Doha, the public art department at Qatar Museums has installed several new attention-getting sculptures outside one of the main match venues.
The pieces were created by Iraqi artist Ahmad Al Bahrani and depict larger-than-life hands, reaching for the sky.
They are situated outside of the Lusail Multipurpose Hall, which will host the opening ceremony and the first match between Qatar and Brazil when the tournament kicks off on Thursday, Jan. 15.
Some two dozen teams will compete in the championships, which are taking place for the first time in the Gulf and only the second time in the Middle East. The tournament runs through Feb 1.
Both Qatar Museums and handball officials did not respond to repeated questions for comment about the new artworks. In a statement, QM said the work is called “The Challenge 2015,” and was produced in just five months.
According to the artist’s website, Al Bahrani splits his time living and working here and in Sweden.
He is internationally renowned for creating thought-provoking large-scale sculptures, such as a gun-toting Mother Theresa, and often themes his works on past experiences, such as war and exile.
The handball statues appear to be part of a larger effort by tournament organizers to drum up excitement for the game.
Over the weekend, for example, colorful hot air balloons could be seen floating in the skies above Doha, counting down the days until the tournament.
Two other artworks have also been revealed in time for the handball championships – murals created by the Qatari artist Mohammed Al Nasif, and a “calligraffiti” piece by the renowned Tunisian artist El Seed.
Public art
In years past, QM’s public art department has also installed several sculptures at the Hamad International Airport.
They include:
- Lamp Bear by Swiss artist Urs Fischer;
- Oryx sculptures by Dutch artist Tom Claassen and a playground by Tom Otterness; and
- A desert horse sculpture by Qatari artist Ali Hassan.
The department also had a hand in the installation of Damien Hirst’s enormous bronze statues in front of the Sidra Medical and Research Center; and Adel Abdessemed’s famous head-butt statue of two fighting footballers on the Corniche.
But after a local outcry, that statue was moved to the Museum of Arab Modern Art (Mathaf), and is still not up for public display.
Thoughts?
Note: This article has been corrected to reflect that the oryx sculptures and playground at the HIA are by two separate artists.
![[Getty]](https://dohanews.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/GettyImages-1763609272-560x420.jpg)
Ugly.
I think I prefer the giant teddy bear.
it’s kinda cool
It’s all in the hand of the beholder…
Nice pun
Night of the Living Dead Giants
Ok, I gotta ask: Who is selecting the art here? Those hands are not reaching for the sky, it’s more like a cry for help. I guess the same one that thought the headbutting (one of the most embarrassing moments in sport history) promoted sport…
you have to be surrounded by art to choose good art…
Just reading your comments, I’m surrounded by art.
yeah good joke! I wish I was surrounded by art. Art saves us all…normally
Nope
the hands are reaching for the ball….and besides….our factory make this…..however
Note sure what’s worest… Continue to bankroll Hamas or funding crappy art
I know, your birth.
or your humor…
Ooooo
I know art is very much subjective but this does look crappy to me. I’d love to know how much it cost as well.
Not sure why Qatar bankrolls Hamas, along with Israel they are one of the blocks to peace.
zombiessss!
“He is internationally renowned for creating thought-provoking large-scale sculptures, such as a gun-toting Mother Theresa” ..strangely Christians did not upsurge and killed because of provocation!
I’m sorry, what are you assuming here exactly please?
He is assuming that he is capable of making thought provoking observations.
Nothing new with full moon, Always trying hard to make a provoking statement then turns out to be stupid
Yeah I noticed that! LOL!!!
Yeah, I noticed that too. See Shabina, Fullmoon’s comment is a perfect example of the kind of comment you should delete, if you had to delete some… Just an idea…
I will delete person attacks, but see no need to delete that comment.
Since when did Mother Teresa hold the same weight in the Christian world as the muslim prophet did in the islamic world? Think before making dumb a$$ comparisons.
As for Jesus (who would be the more appropriate figure to use for such a comparison), centuries of various works where he is the subject of critical assessments/mockery has already established that there is more tolerance for such expressions in the Western world than in this region, you are not making any insightful observations here.
Not depicting Mohd is a recent happening. Mohd through the centuries has appeared in thousands of Islamic works. The koran does not ban his image either so this uproar is pathetic and a form of control for the brainless
Waste of money and looks dirty
Think of it like your buttocks Saeed, dirty but never abandoned by your underwear.
QM is becoming expert in wasting money. It is shocking they still did not understand “art” is not something people are interested in here, whether locals or expats.
They have money and don’t care.
If I had known about QM when I was growing up I would have focused all my efforts on establishing a career in art. Once I had reached a certain level of prominence, I will purchase lollipops for some of the kids in my neighborhood in exchange for any “creative” things they can produce from all the trash in the neighborhood green bins. I will then sell their finished pieces to QM for millions and then make more millions from my book “How to become a millionaire selling garbage as art”.
:I
Why go to the trouble of raiding trash cans to create art? You know you can just sell rocks to QMA, right?
http://www.qm.org.qa/en/qatar-uk-2013
hey at least the surroundings are beautiful!! Look so much Nature! They can’t buy that in Qatar…..
That’s nothing compared to other purchases. Just type “Paul Cezanne” and “Cards Players” on Google and read 🙂
I like this Michael. Probably because of the location in the picture. + i think bringing this rock into Qatar for people who are not families with what rock look like physically is not a bad idea for me especial children educationally.
They’re not actually reaching for the sky. They are hands of handball players but the ball wasn’t installed yet at the time of these photos. One hand is preparing to throw the ball and 3 hands are trying to block. You can see the uninstalled ball in the photos. Or maybe authorities here wanted to improvise by adding the ball.
Ah, thanks for the clarification. Have been asking for official comment for two weeks, no response from anybody :/
I think one of the critical area of an organisation people do not take seriously but need rapid improvement in Qatar is the field of Public Relations
I did some consultancy in a Doha based Government office many years ago which included reshuffling the office layout.
It was suggested by some that it would make sense for the marketing people to be with the finance and contracts people.
“Umm, okay, for any particular reason?”, we ask.
“Well then they can get the contracts approved and signed, before they visit the market to buy things”.
nice “hand” job
yes it’s ugly
I will wait for complete installation of this work of art before commenting on it. For me, this art is a brilliant creative ideal if install properly. I think colour and positioning is very important in bringing out beauty of an art.