Qatari artist takes creative stand against plastic binge
Pictures of an abaya covered with plastic wastes invite Qataris to reflect on their plastic consumption as pollution from disposable products surged during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Face masks and plastic gloves thrown away on the street of Qatar's capital Doha during the pandemic served as a wake-up call for Fatima Mohammed. The thought-provoking contemporary Qatari artist turned a black abaya into a subtle awareness tool against plastic binge.
Plastic feathers made from water bottles the artist consumed over two months cover the abaya, a garment worn by most Gulf women. Qatar’s annual plastic consumption, estimated at about 109 kg per person, grew faster than any other Gulf nation between 2006 and 2016 — nearly 14% per year.
Five pictures of the "plastic abaya" clicked in Qatar’s flat desert plains, as well as an installation made of plastic wastes, are now exhibited in Katara, a cultural village in Doha. Mohammed told Al-Monitor she is “curious to see how people would react” to turning garbage into art.
Art is “a good language” to build consciousness in the community and familiarizes the younger generation with local environmental issues, said Neeshad Shafi, a Doha-based environmental activist who co-founded the Arab Youth Climate Movement Qatar.
