ISHØJ.- ARKEN Museum of Contemporary Art opened Kuwaiti artist Monira Al Qadiri’s largest exhibition to date in Scandinavia. Seeking to understand the profound changes brought about by the oil industry – not only in her homeland but for all human beings – Al Qadiri scrutinises the fossil fuel business and petro-culture. With wry humour, a poetic sensibility and a keenly honed critical eye, she takes us deep into the world of oil, into the geometric patterns of its molecules and the changes it causes in marine life. With her sculptures and installations, she reminds us that even gleaming, seductive surfaces may well conceal dark truths.

In ARKEN’s new exhibition Chameleon, the internationally acclaimed artist Monira Al Qadiri invites visitors to enter a richly sensuous and thought-provoking world where oil, technology and mythology merge in shimmering, playful sculptures and installations.

As curator Jenny Lund says: ‘This exhibition is seductive and unsettling in equal measure. And audiences may well find that the world looks a little different afterwards; that its colours have changed.’

In her artistic practice, Monira Al Qadiri explores emotional and symbolic aspects of the global oil economy – from its aesthetics to its impact on our collective ideas of progress and prosperity for people and for nations alike. The artist, who grew up in Kuwait, playfully refers to oil as ‘the world’s most widespread drug.’

Says Monira Al Qadiri: ‘I have this hybridised way of making art that you can see in many of my works. On the surface, they have this cartoon-like, fun quality, but when you understand the concepts behind them, there’s this very heavy and dark literary aspect.’

An example of Al Qadiri’s approach is provided by the work OR-BIT, in which the artist transforms industrial drill heads from the oil industry into floating, iridescent sculptures, glittering like jewels – and like machines.

Curator Jenny Lund reflects: ‘We are all formed by oil, as nations and as individuals. Over the course of history, it has shaped our everyday lives, our dreams and our very notion of progress. Monira Al Qadiri makes the invisible visible, reminding us that even the most lustrous surfaces may conceal dark stories.’

At the heart of the exhibition, visitors will find two monumental sea snails that make up the work Gastromancer (2023). The conches float within a womb-like space awash with red light, their whispering voices pointing towards change and transformation – a poetic meditation on the hidden consequences of the oil industry and nature’s ability to strike back.

‘Monira Al Qadiri invites us to enter a space where sensuous appeal and political poignancy come together,’ says Jenny Lund.

‘Her works are beautiful and alluring, but beneath the surface runs an undercurrent of profound reflection on our modern lives and what they are truly built upon. This is art that hits you with immediate, physical impact – and art you will continue to think about long after you leave.’