Street Language

With a striking colour palette dominated by yellow and orange hues, evoking the hot climate of his country, Qatari artist Faraj Daham illustrates the rapid urbanisation of Doha and its surrounding areas in Street Language.

This large-scale work depicts a group of construction workers characterised by their face coverings and coveralls. They gaze directly at the viewer; this conveys the artist’s strong interest in the sociological aspects of urbanisation. Daham depicts the figures with disproportionately large feet, a common style of representation within his visual language. Since 2006, he has engaged with the day-to-day realities of urban life by documenting extensive construction sites as a visual phenomenon in modern-day development within Doha. The featured circular lines resemble a shooting target to provide the viewer with a frame of focus.