Electric Idyll Exhibition by Pipilotti Rist

Events Details

Qatar Museums is bringing to you Electric Idyll – the first survey exhibition dedicated to renowned contemporary Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist (b. 1962) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region — at the Fire Station: Artist in Residence in Doha.

Designed as a single, comprehensive installation spanning the more than 650-square-metre exhibition space of the Fire Station’s Garage Gallery, Electric Idyll presents a diverse collection of some of the artist’s most celebrated works combined with new participatory pieces created specifically for this exhibition. Curated by Massimiliano Gioni, the exhibition opens as part of the special February gathering of Qatar Creates, the year-round national cultural movement that promotes and celebrates the diversity of cultural activities in Qatar and connects residents and global audiences with Qatar’s creative industries. The exhibition will remain on view through 1 June 2024.

Emerging in the 1990s as part of a generation of artists who explore the connections between technology, nature, and the spectacle of omni-pervasive images in contemporary societies, Rist has been internationally celebrated for her video installations, which combine immersive projections and communal experiences of dreamlike contemplation. For Electric Idyll, Rist develops the exhibition as a hypnotic diorama—an all-encompassing digital landscape comprising 14 works.

Electric Idyll marks the second major presentation of Rist’s work in Doha, following the installation Your Brain to Me, My Brain to You (2022), which remains on view at the National Museum of Qatar until 30 April 2024. The commissioned installation invites visitors to embark on a journey of self-discovery through a multisensory experience that inspires introspection and awe. A key feature of Your Brain to Me, My Brain to You are “pixels” that comprise 12,000 LED lights strung on cables throughout the gallery for visitors to navigate. Representing neurons, constantly firing and communicating with each other, the pulsing resin-encased bulbs have been programmed in choreography with a soundscape and featuring abstract footage of Qatar’s landscapes.

• Time: Saturday to Thursday: 9 am – 7 pm & Friday: 1:30 pm – 7 pm

Source and cover image credit: Press Release