Qatar Today, the final gallery at the National Museum of Qatar, is an immersive space dedicated to the present-day reality of this country. Jean Nouvel’s studio designed a multi-projection device with high-definition LED screens concealed behind large one-way mirrors. The complex interplay of reflected spaces merges with the audiovisual content and the visitor’s own image, creating a remarkable enveloping effect that immerses spectators in what happens in the gallery.
In this room, Empty installed 360 square metres of one-way mirror panes with a maximum height of 5 metres, which conceal a complex 120-sqm array of high-resolution LED screens (with a 1.9 pitch) as well as a 70-channel integrated audio system. All of this is managed by a Medialon control system and a Watchout player for displaying updatable content.
The gallery itinerary features 14 interconnected audiovisual pieces. Each is a different chapter of a story that begins with the ascent to the throne of the current emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in 2013, continues with the 2017 political blockade by Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain, and concludes with the country’s subsequent reaction in the economic, social, cultural and political spheres up to the present day.
Each audiovisual presentation shows 12 minutes of footage in 3, 4 or 6-minute loops, a running order that lets visitors interact with the 168 minutes of AV content from different perspectives. The full production—created in collaboration with the producers Arena and Avalon Media—combines motion graphics, more than 50 hours of archive footage from Al Jazeera, Qatar TV and other media, in-house documentary video and special contributions from Qatari filmmakers.
The sound environment and synchronised lighting accompany visitors as they move through the different areas.
