Murals at Shangri La feature a dialogue between selected artists and Shangri La's landscapes, structures, and collections. In the spirit of Doris Duke's vision for Shangri La, the art showcases the creative connections that may be drawn from this inspirational place.
Exile (2018) by Reem BassousShangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design
This thoughtful, measured study of Shangri La presents the museum as a place of beauty and as a site of exile.
Its bold, colorful composition featuring recognizable artworks from the collection — the gem-inset enameled gold peacock boat from the Mughal Suite being the most central — references the artistry that characterizes Shangri La.
But note the jarring shapes of architectural rubble and striated fragments of disintegrating ornamentation, referencing the artist’s experience of loss during the civil war in her native Beirut and the construction at, and of, Shangri La.
These elements are framed by oversized vegetation drawn from the pietra dura elements of the Mughal Suite, exaggerated for artistic effect but intentionally obscures the presentation of Shangri La as being easily accessible or understood - both publicly and emotionally.
Exile (2018) by Reem BassousShangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design
Phoenix (Again) (2018) by Reem BassousShangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design
This work is an abstract study of fragmentation, wayfinding, and layering at Shangri La.
Phoenix (Again) (2018) by Reem BassousShangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design
The strong graphic underpinnings are suggestive of Kufic script, but are blueprints of the site, outlining the artist’s daily walk to and from Shangri La as she worked on the mural.
Phoenix (Again) (2018) by Reem BassousShangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design
A striated phoenix/simurgh emerging from the right-hand side of the composition symbolizes renewal.
The work is overlain with a reflective blue paint—known, rather poetically, as “interference”—which interacts with the waterways in front of the panel, injecting an intriguing visual note, and subtly references Shangri La’s shimmering collections of lusterware ceramics on view in the Mihrab Hallway.
Above the Wall, Under the Rainbow, Free Air (2017) by Eko NugrohoShangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design
Artist Eko Nugroho reminds us that beyond the walls, barriers, and boundaries created by nation states, there is the sky that we share and oxygen that we all need created by the nature that surrounds us.
The rainbow is an important metaphor for diversity: the appearance of a rainbow should remind us that this necessary diversity should not only be tolerated, but valued.
If nature creates beauty through these multitude of colors, then humanity is also meant to appreciate and care for diversity.
Cycles (2017) by Kris GotoShangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design
Cycles (2017) by Kris GotoShangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design
"Cycles is an exploration of the relationship between mankind and nature at Shangri La...fingerprints dot the bodies of spotted eagle rays to serve as a metaphor for the effect that humans can have on nature..." - Kris Goto, Artist
Cycles (2017) by Kris GotoShangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design
"...figures are 'born' from hibiscus flowers, symbolizing nature's role in human existence." - Kris Goto, Artist
Cycles (2017) by Kris GotoShangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design
"...The unique environment at Shangri La -- the ocean viewshed, the landscapes, and the gardens -- reminds us of the beauty, fragility, and significance of our setting as well as the important role that we have in safeguarding and caring for the natural world." - Kris Goto, Artist
Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design
Honolulu, Hawai'i
Shangri La is a museum for learning about the global culture of Islamic art and design through exhibitions, digital and educational initiatives, public tours and programs, and community partnerships.
Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design is a program of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation through the Doris Duke Foundation For Islamic Art.
