MONIRA AL QADIRI
BENZENE FLOAT

MODERNE GALERIE, SAARBRÜCKEN, GERMANY
15 AUGUST 2026 – 3 JANUARY 2027

With BENZENE FLOAT, Monira Al Qadiri transforms the atrium of the Moderne Galerie into a dazzling landscape of floating molecules. Four oversized, inflatable sculptures draw on the spatial models of petrochemical compounds—substances such as benzene and naphthalene, which are derived from petroleum and natural gas and shape our everyday lives in countless ways.

© Monira Al Qadiri, Kunsthaus Bregenz

This hidden world is brought to light through the monumental, shimmering, colorful forms. Their playful lightness stands in deliberate contrast to the enormous significance of petrochemical substances: they enable modern comforts and technological progress, yet are at the same time inextricably linked to resource consumption and environmental destruction. Straddling the line between fascination and unease, BENZENE FLOAT offers a new perspective on the materials that shape our present—and invites us to reflect on their impact on our future.

FEATURED ARTIST

MONIRA AL QADIRI
Monira Al Qadiri (b. 1983) is a Kuwaiti visual artist born in Senegal and educated in Japan. Spanning sculpture, installation, film, and performance, Al Qadiri’s multifaceted practice is based on research into the cultural histories of the Gulf region. Her interpretation of the Gulf’s so-called “petro-culture” is manifested through speculative scenarios that take inspiration from science fiction, autobiography, traditional practices, and pop culture, resulting in uncanny and covertly subversive works that destabilize mythologies of statecraft and modernization as well as traditional notions of gender. Tracing the delicate ecologies threate...
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