Olafur Eliasson’s installation in Qatar creating a buzz at the 2022 FIFA World Cup

Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson’s installation, titled ‘Shadows Travelling on the Sea of the Day’ with twenty circular structures, is made in collaboration with Qatar Museums. It is one of the 100 commissioned artworks that have come up all over Qatar to be enjoyed during the course of the FIFA tournament. The design is meant to ‘bring light to the significance’ of Al Subarah, a UNESCO World Heritage site, where the installation is located. According to the artist, “The installation is an invitation to resync with the planet. It is a celebration of everything being in and moving through the desert site north of Doha at the time of your visit – animals, plants, and human beings; stories, traditions, and cultural artefacts; wind, sunlight, air and shimmering heat.” To quote Qatar Museums, “On arriving at the installation, looking up at the mirrored undersides, you will come to realise that you are, in fact, looking down – at the earth and at yourself.”  When viewed from above, the arrangement of 10 of the covered shelters in the middle of the installation resemble a five-pointed star face, which seems like a representation of medieval Islamic patterns.