doug aitken channels the interior of the earth in a kaleidoscopic artwork at the national museum of qatar

doug aitken continues his virtual road trip through the creative process in an exclusive video series with designboom, shared during the unpredictable times that COVID-19 has provoked. each of the short films has been shot in a different location, and documents the artist’s diverse work — from a permanent architecture and sound installation in the brazilian rainforest, to his home in california, which he activated as a musical instrument. aitken’s visual sojourn invites viewers on a creative odyssey across landscape, artistic expression and societal currents — from wherever in the world they are experiencing this unprecedented moment in time.

in the final chapter of the video series, aitken takes us inside the newly-opened national museum of qatar designed by jean nouvel. here, he has sited a multi-channel installation that plays with perception and the architecture of the space.

the national museum of qatar’s architecture draws inspiration from the naturally-occurring ‘desert rose’, expressed by an intricate cluster of massive plate-like geometries. these rose-like formations occur within the gulf region when minerals crystallize in the crumbling soil just below the surface of a shallow salt basin. this feature of the desert landscape became the model for the museum’s complex structure of discs, each with its own diameter and curvature.

in this immersive artwork sited within the museum and seen in the video above, aitken also looks towards the earth’s naturally-occurring systems, and explores its living and continuously changing forms. working with geophysicists, the artist filmed and re-created images of the earth’s pressure, shifts and continuous changes. the kaleidoscopic installation envelopes the curved walls of the building, creating an all-encompassing experience and a distinct connection with the earth below.

see doug aitken’s virtual road trip through the creative process in the video series here.