Bahraini-Danish

Bloom

Drawing inspiration from the resilient flora of the AlUla desert, we conceived our kinetic installation as a fictional desert blossom that transforms the landscape into a stage of play, movement and collective imagination. Over the course of our repeated visits to AlUla, we were struck by how the light moved across the rocks and how the flora revealed itself slowly throughout the day. Returning to the site, this encounter deepened into an understanding that the landscape holds both permanence and constant motion. The sculpture, Bloom, as we called it, shimmers between the rocks, appearing and disappearing as the sunlight shifts, its spinning forms merging with the terrain to create a continuous dialogue between light, shadow and landscape.

Activated by hand and the natural forces of wind and sunlight, the sculpture casts fleeting shadows that echo the silhouettes of AlUla’s native flora. From a distance, we thought it read like a seasonal bush gently swaying in the wind. Up close, the shadows create new perspectives. Here, we invite visitors to engage directly with the sculpture: by spinning its wheels, they will feel the power of setting large elements into motion, which generates evolving patterns of objects in the air and shadows on their bodies. Each participant becomes part of the choreography of shadow and movement, animating the work alongside the environment.

In shaping the mechanics of the sculpture, we studied systems that move or inspire movement. Toy-like solar system models, where a single lever sets an entire system in motion, informed our approach, as did early mechanical innovations from the Islamic world, where intricate gears transformed simple gestures into cycles of wonder.

Positioned carefully within the valley, dwarfed by AlUla’s monumental rock formations, we aim for the sculpture to extend beyond its physical form, complementing rather than competing with the landscape. We aim for it to invite interaction while remaining in harmony with its surroundings, becoming at once a playground, a machine and a living part of the desert.

About the Artists

Founded in Bahrain in 2016 by Batool Alshaikh (b.1991), Maitham Almubarak (B.1992) and Christian Vennerstrøm Jensen (b.1988) Bahraini-Danish is an architectural studio that operates between A’ali, Bahrain and Copenhagen, Denmark. The group creates sculptural furniture, lighting, vessels and books that define a territory between art and architecture, craft and design. Inspired by ‘historical encounters between Bahrain and Denmark in fields such as archaeology, architecture and dairy production’, their practice is driven by research into cross-cultural traditions and by experimenting with natural materials and new technologies. They also consider the meaning and impact of objects in urban interiors as well as in outdoor, natural environments.

The group have presented their work at Dubai Design Days (2017); Fuori Salone, Milan (2018); ArtBab, Venice (2019); Athr Gallery, Jeddah (2019); The Farm, Denmark (2019); Amman Design Week 3 (2019); Days of Design, Denmark* (2020); Design Miami/Basel, Florida (2021), Etage Projects at Nomad, St. Moritz (2022).

Their projects have entered the collections of Qatar Museums, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Residence of the Danish Prime Minister, Denmark. Their book Positive Encounters was awarded Best Book Work of 2024 by Boghaandvaerk (The Danish Book Crafts Society). They were finalists for the Design Doha Prize 2024 and received the Arab World Institute Design Prize 2025.