Monira Al Qadiri’s mesmerising outdoor sculpture, the second Bagri Foundation Commission, reanimates the ancient sea creatures that form today’s fossil fuels. Fabricated by Cake Industries (with structural engineering by Cake Engineering), the sculpture was installed outside the Southbank Centre for summer 2022.
Many of the oil deposits being extracted in the northern hemisphere were formed from the remains of the animals, plants and microorganisms that existed on Earth during the Devonian period, nearly 400 million years ago.
Also referred to as The Age of Fish, it’s famous for the thousands of species of fish, crustaceans, shellfish and marine plants that developed during this era.
The word Devonian comes from Devon, England, where the old red sandstone containing these fossils was first studied.
In this towering sculpture, these fantastical, almost alien-like creatures – whose remains we currently use for fuel and plastics via petroleum – come alive again on our Riverside Terrace.
Al Qadiri crystallises the moment oil was formed by animating the bodies of its original creators using her signature iridescent colours with an oil-like sheen.
Devonian highlights the fragile nature of our dependence on fossil fuels by visually connecting the past and present of these Devonian beings, and questions their place in our collective future.
Monira Al Qadiri is a Kuwaiti visual artist based in Berlin, Germany. Spanning sculpture, installation, film and performance, Al Qadiri’s multifaceted practice explores unconventional gender identities, petro-cultures and their possible futures.
Devonian is the second of three annual commissions presented by the Hayward Gallery in partnership with the Bagri Foundation to bring new public art commissions by artists from or inspired by Asia and its diaspora to the Southbank Centre.
Client: Hayward Gallery (Supported by the Bagri Foundation)
Artist: Monira al Qadiri
Structural Engineering: Cake Engineering
Fabrication and installation: Cake Industries
Photographs: Rob Hatch
