Thesis 2026/ Mubarak Al-Thani

As a kid growing up in a developing country and a booming economy, I have long been fascinated by architecture. This body of work is a deeper dive into the landscapes of my world. I wanted to explore the very genome; the atom or cellular molecule that makes up my landscapes – the skyscraper – and blast it on repeat.

I opted to show a body of work that is aesthetically cohesive but intentionally diverse in materials and mediums. The body of work on display includes sculptures and paintings. The materials include: wood, glass, Papier-Mache and works on paper. Most of the displayed pieces include mixed media with the majority being acrylic paint. The Papier-Mache are made of residual balls from years’ worth of masking-tape.

My artwork traditionally investigates the correlation between space and time through form and color. For example, I painted the cube sculpture’s sides differently; selection is on the basis of a regional traditional colors and season. There’s an Amazigh Summer with blues and sunset hues of orange typical to north western Africa. There’s a Bedouin Arabian Winter side with black, red, metallics and a touch of green signaling the arrival of winter and the usage of dark-colored wool for warmth in the desert cold.

Through paint, I learned that dimensional objects can be flattened and flat surfaces can gain volume. I use colors as a tool to create this depth; it makes space compress or expand. I also have experimented with marrying sculpture and painting. In the body of work presented here, I placed a 3D looking pattern of repetitive skyscrapers onto dimensional sculptures. Having the pattern override the sculpture creates an illusionary tension where the physical edges and corners fade away. It becomes difficult for the audience to know what is painted versus what is a hard edge. The framing on the two larger paintings is a summary of my life; a boy from the east explores the west – a topic that carries through most of my work. The east being the softly curved frame and POV; the west being the organized grid city.

As for the curation, having artworks of different sizes placed at different distances from the viewer’s initial position allows the eye to travel back and forth. Additionally, it mimics an actual landscape because things are usually not equidistant from any given point. Just like a city, I invite the audience to engage by walking near and around the artworks.

Website: https://www.mubaraknasser.com

Instagram: mbarak_althani