To celebrate the arrival of Damien Hirst’s ‘Relics’ retrospective to Doha’s Al Riwaq Exhibition Space, the British artist teamed up with Miuccia Prada to create an unexpected desert mirage in the form of a pop-up juice bar in Qatar last week.
Located within a nearby Bedouin tent, the ‘Prada Oasis and Damien Hirst’s Pharmacy Juice Bar’ came decked out as a drug store, acting as a reinterpretation of the artist’s late 1990s ‘Pharmacy Restaurant’, and accompanied a nearby Prada boutique, similarly housed within a traditional tent made from sheep hair.
Hirst and Prada first met in 1996 at the ‘Art/Fashion’ exhibition, curated by Germano Celant and Ingrid Sischy in Forte Belvedere, Florence. And although former Prada art extensions such as Elmgreen & Dragset’s ‘Prada Marfa’ store installation in Marfa, Texas were not in fact shoppable, for this project Mrs Prada crafted 20 limited edition ‘Entomology’ Plexiglas bags, encasing bejewelled beetles.
As the Qatar Museum Authority’s director of public art, Jean Paul Engelen explained, the project ‘sought to create an out-of-the-ordinary place which, for just two days, provided a totally unique experience in the Arab landscape’.
The collaboration between Mrs Prada, Damien Hirst, and Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani, chair of the QMA, saw the proceeds from the sale of the bespoke bags dedicated to the Sheikha’s Reach Out To Asia non-profit organisation that aims to improve youth access to education in Asia and the Middle East.
The pop-up juice bar accompanied a nearby Prada store, similarly housed within a traditional tent made from sheep hair
From the left: An exclusive illustration of one of the 20 limited-edition Prada ‘Entomology’ Plexiglas bags that encased bejewelled beetles
Inside the Prada store tent, featuring the house's signature black and white chequered floor (this time fashioned in carpet) and green velvet hung mirrors
ADDRESS
The exhibition is located at Al Riwaq Doha Exhibition Space, on Al Corniche, next to the Museum of Islamic Art
-
From dress to tool watches, discover chic red dialsWatch brands from Cartier to Audemars Piguet are embracing a vibrant red dial. Here are the ones that have caught our eye.
-
Behind a contemporary veil, this Kyoto house has tradition at its coreDesigned by Apollo Architects & Associates, a Kyoto house in Uji City is split into a series of courtyards, adding a sense of wellbeing to its residential environment
-
EV maker Rivian creates its first Concept Experience in New York’s Meatpacking DistrictUnder the High Line, in the heart of one of New York’s most famous neighbourhoods is the Rivian Concept Experience, a showroom designed to surprise and delight both long-term aficionados and total newcomers to the brand
-
The creative mind at work: a century of storyboarding at Fondazione PradaFondazione Prada’s 'Osservatorio, A Kind of Language: Storyboards and Other Renderings' features some of the most celebrated names in cinema working from the late 1920s up to 2024
-
Damien Hirst takes over Château La CosteDamien Hirst’s ‘The Light That Shines’ at Château La Coste includes new and existing work, and takes over the entire 500-acre estate in Provence
-
The Weight of Things: Damien Hirst curates his retrospective in MunichThe Weight of Things, at The Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art, Munich (MUCA), was curated by Hirst himself and comprises work spanning four decades
-
Buckhorn Sculpture Park: inside the art paradise dreamt up by collectors Sherry and Joel MallinAs legendary art collectors Sherry and Joel Mallin prepare to sell their upstate New York home – and the star-studded collection occupying Buckhorn, its onsite sculpture park – we go behind the scenes of this art treasure trove, and the extraordinary life, work and spirit of the Mallins
-
Damien Hirst’s art goes up in flames at ‘Burn Event’In a flame-filled performance for the final stage of The Currency, Damien Hirst’s ‘Burn Event’ sees the artist set his paper artworks on fire before minting the process as a series of NFTs
-
Exhibition review: Damien Hirst’s greatest hits in formaldehyde‘Natural History’ at Gagosian Britannia Street, London is the first-ever show dedicated to Damien Hirst’s iconic formaldehyde sculptures. Chopped-up sharks, flayed innards, six-limbed cows – why do we keep returning for another slice?
-
Fashion's finest moments at Frieze Los Angeles 2022 -
Michael Craig-Martin turns Covid-era objects into iconsIrish artist Michael Craig-Martin confronts a new age of consumer culture, putting his striking, bold-coloured spin on objects defining the times
