Maquette of Al-Safina (The Ship)

Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art

Currently on view at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art

Title:: Maquette of Al-Safina (The Ship)

Artist:: Adam Henein

Date:: 2009

Material:: Aerated concrete, Paint
Technique:: Sculpting
Dimensions:: 25 × 135 × 35 cm

This is a small-scale model of “Al-Safina” (The Ship), one of Mathaf’s permanent outdoor sculptures. The late Egyptian artist Adam Henein (1929-2020) designed the work as a metaphorical alternative to the museum space. It was produced between in Qatar and Aswan, Egypt between 2009 and 2010.

Henein used geometric abstraction, to sculpt simplified human and animal figures influenced by timeless aesthetic of ancient Egyptian antiquity