Marking our occasional Sunday photo feature, here’s a selection of dramatic shots taken in Qatar’s desert of the towering “East West” exhibition.
The permanent art installation, which was unveiled by Qatar Museums last year, consists of four steel plates that are about 15m (49 feet) tall.
The exhibition was created for Qatar by renowned American artist Richard Serra, and is located some 60km outside of Doha at the Brouq Nature Reserve near Zekreet.
Serra previously said he chose the spot after walking around the area with the Father Emir, who was nostalgic about it because he used to visit the place with his uncles as a little boy, and watch the antelope gather.
To see East West for yourself, jump onto the Dukhan Highway and exit at the junction for Khawzan (ideally in a 4×4, as  you’ll be off-roading).
Turn to the left on the road following along the line of the highway until you reach an underpass. Follow the track up the peninsula toward Film City to find the sculptures.
Thoughts?
ah yes, the infamous steel plates in the middle of nowhere labeled as art. These pictures are nice though, would make good ‘wish you were here’ postcards
if I got one of those postcards, I’d feel really happy I wasn’t there.
I think the structures just marred the beautiful view of the desert!
Ha I was there this weekend and was wondering whats up with so many photographers. I did exit at Khawzan but couldn’t find a proper route. GPS routed me to a right after the Cuban hospital. Its a semi tar/rocky road which I avoided and went straight though the Zekreet village (after the camels), found a pass between the oil pipes…was there. Hope this helps ppl to reach this sculpture.
These are very beautiful, but I must say I was a bit bewildered when I visited Zekreet and found these randomly laying around in the desert. If you aren’t going to put such momentous sculptures in a tourist-heavy area, then the government should at least promote Zekreet on a similar caliber to Mesaieed or Dukhan…
Oops, I meant are*, not aren’t.
I think the installation is beautiful. So stunning at sunset. Climb the rocky hill to the left (facing west) and get a whole new take on the plates from above. It’s a fun few hours with out of town guests when followed with a picnic at the beach.