Two exceptional art exhibitions open at Fire Station

Meriam JellitiDohaQatar Museums (QM) is welcoming two exceptional exhibitions titled ‘Abeer Al-Tamimi: Beyond the Rules’ and ‘Abstraction: Subverting Reality’ at Doha Fire Station starting today.Abeer Al-Tamimi: Beyond the Rules is a solo exhibition that dives into the artist’s interest in human interaction and behaviour. According to the survey which Tamimi conducted during her residence at Cité internationale des Arts in Paris in 2021, people are entitled and live in a bubble that invokes negative behaviour. Starting from that moment this theme became important to the artist and she has been exploring it till the present time. This interest reflects in all her creative development. Tamimi is a multi-disciplinary, experimental artist who introduces unconventional materials and elements into her work seeking new forms of expression. She is engrossed in social issues of today, transforming them into abstract and contemporary styles that people can relate to. For Tamimi, it is fascinating to explore how diverse cultures have different ways of interpreting behaviours and emotions — and that we can all agree to one basic ideology of coexistence. This entails understanding and respecting one another rather than forcing one’s opinion or belief on the other.Her projects explore the negative effects of self-righteous thoughts and factors that shape the subconscious and conscious mind that can navigate a person to undesirable consequences.This entails understanding and respecting one another rather than forcing one’s opinion or belief on the other. "Our strength lies in our differences, there is strength in this diversity that breaks the boundaries within us,” the artist stated."My exhibition revolves around coexisting. People with different beliefs and traditions can always come together and coexist and something positive will come out of understanding one another, and at the same time, it also reflects the negative side of it, which focuses more on mental health issues. So, my art is dedicated to raising awareness of mental health issues. I myself have struggled for a period of time and thankfully I had the support of my family but many people don’t. So, I wanted to show people that we are not alone in this, we can all share and we should all be able to understand one another and hence coexist with one another,” Tamimi explained.Abstraction: Subverting Reality exhibition, curated by Amal Zeyad Ali, is on view until September 24, 2022. The exhibition offers more than 25 works of multidisciplinary contemporary artists: Noor Abuissa, Amna Al Baker, Shaikha Al Hardan, May Al Mannai, Hassan Al Mulla, Ebtisam Al Saffar, Ryan Browning, Sarah Jayyousi, Jesse Payne, Michael Perrone and Twiggy Shmeissany.The exhibition reflects different techniques, colours and shapes. It includes painting, drawing, and sculpture. The exhibition features artists from past and current residency programmes at the Fire Station, as well as newcomers to the Fire Station who were invited to participate. It presents a range of artworks by each of the 11 artists, encouraging the viewer to be empowered to see what they want to represent by each piece and to receive a unique experience. "Curating this exhibition was a lot of fun as every artist had a different perspective or style of work. I think it’s a great way to show the richness of the local art scene in Qatar which is one of the primary aims of the Fire Station. Not a single visitor will have the same experience at coming to this exhibition,” said the curator, Amal Zeyad Ali."This exhibition came about for two main reasons; I really love abstract art and I wanted to showcase how many artists are working on abstract art in Qatar while shedding light on the subject as a big theme. My main concern was that everyone has a different feeling or take away from the exhibition, so it is a very unique experience for everyone,” she added.