BIOGRAPHICAL MUSEUM DESIGN & CURATION

WEFT uses arched brass displays and Kuwaiti desert sand to tell the life story of Sheikh Jaber Al Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah - a prominent member of Kuwait’s ruling family.

The biographical exhibition scheme presented as a photographic essay draws inspiration from Sheikh Jaber’s drawings of his own birthplace - a traditional Kuwaiti mud house built around a large liwan with arched portals connecting to the living areas. At the exhibition, the contemporary arched displays take on a figurative role as gateways to the celebrated person’s life. Meanwhile, the perimeter of the central display is filled with Kuwait’s desert sand, standing as a metaphor to Sheikh Jaber’s childhood in the pre-oil economy times, when Kuwait was a vastly undeveloped desert.

“Creating a contemporary space that is meant to resonate with someone’s life is a particularly challenging architectural brief. More so in a place like Kuwait, where a sense of culture and tradition is so firmly at play. We tried to remain sensible throughout the whole design process; we continuously questioned ourselves - how would Sheikh Jaber feel when he stepped into a space that attempts to be a form of representation of his life,” said Ricardas Blazukas, the Founder and Design Director at WEFT.

The exhibition embodies an intimate ambiance achieved by a combination of subtle material tones, skillfully crafted brass details, thoughtful lighting placement, and is completed with Arabic Oud instrument sounds playing in the background.