Frank Lohmann
Monira Al Qadiri
Monira Al Qadiri
since 2020
The value of sculptures depends to a large extent on the material used. Metal not only creates a special sensual haptic experience through its weight and its cool, hard surface. Incredible surfaces can also be created visually, and there are no limits.
We are happy to have convinced and inspired the Kuwaiti artist Monira Al Qadiri (born in Senegal in 1983) about this unique material. In 2020, we built her first metallic sculpture: the five-meter-high artwork "Chimera". By the way, also her first permanently public work. The oversized, 3300-kilogram drill head, which is coated with a special, pearlescent lacquer (flip-flop lacquer), has a high significance for the artist. In her works, she deals with the history of her country, combining the theme of the discovery of oil with pearl diving, which previously played a major role in the economy of the Gulf Coast.
"Chimera" took just under a year to design and fabricate. We shaped eight millimeter thick aluminum sheet mostly by hand, but also by machine (3D forming). To bring out the many details of the drill head, individual sheets were formed, welded and ground by Arnold manufacturing specialists. Due to the rigidity of the material, no additional reinforcing substructure was necessary. Together with the iridescent color play of the pearlescent special lacquer, the result is a perfect surface without distortion. "Chimera" was unveiled at the "Expo 2020" trade fair in Dubai.
With the wall installation "Prehistoria" Al Qadiri presents ten individual 2D cross-sections of a drill head, almost one meter in diameter, lacquered in a special pearlescent paint and precisely placed on the wall to promote a certain shadow play. They are made of five-millimeter-thick aluminum sheets. Special were the development of the suspension system and fastening. The plasterboard wall was a challenge for the statics of the individual pieces weighing almost twenty kilograms. But in the end, no problem for Arnold either.
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