Mal Lawal: Home Edition
A crowd-sourced exhibition looking at collecting practices within every-day homes.
Gavin Casey' collection, Clarice Cliff pottery, (2020) by Gavin CaseyNational Museum of Qatar
Home Edition
The ‘Mal Lawal: Home Edition’ initiative invited people in Qatar to think about collections they might have in their houses. These submissions demonstrate a variety of collecting practices. Making sense of the world through objects is at the forefront of these stories.
Sumaya Alshebani's collection, homeware, (2020) by Sumaya AlshebaniNational Museum of Qatar
Sumaya Alshebani and Family
Sumaya Alshebani and her family believe that houses can tell stories. Her idea of collecting revolves around communicating stories through the objects featured within her house.
Sumaya Alshebani's collection, homeware, (2020) by Sumaya AlshebaniNational Museum of Qatar
Sumaya Alshebani
“Stories of people who live in it, about their whereabouts and who they are. This is what my family and I strive to achieve – a house with many stories. I don't want a house organised like a hotel, nor a home that follows strict interior design rules.”
Sumaya Alshebani's collection, homeware, (2020) by Sumaya AlshebaniNational Museum of Qatar
Sumaya Alshebani
“I want the design to capture memories; the mess my sons make as they play with my father’s desk; the tears of my children when baking cookies together because they want to have one;…
Sumaya Alshebani
…the joy of my son when he decorates cakes in an old plate that we found in a village we visited; the sight of our house at night because of the lamps my husband collected.…
Sumaya Alshebani
… All these messy, imperfect moments are what make a house a home. We fill this space with things that inspire us and represent us so that everyone in this family can tell their stories. We collect to create a home that communicates our story.”
Hessa Al Kuwari's collection, old toys and antique dolls, (2020) by Hessa Al KuwariNational Museum of Qatar
Hessa Al Kuwari
Hessa Al Kuwari collects old toys and antique dolls. For her, “the collection began by keeping some old family belongings.”
Hessa Al Kuwari's collection, old toys and antique dolls, (2020) by Hessa Al KuwariNational Museum of Qatar
Hessa Al Kuwari
“About 15 years ago, the collecting journey continued through travels and purchases from the Internet. The pieces varied. They included vases, old phones and pictures. Around 8 years ago, I started collecting old toys and antique dolls too.”
Hessa Al Kuwari's collection, old toys and antique dolls, (2020) by Hessa Al KuwariNational Museum of Qatar
Hessa Al Kuwari
“I collected most of the toys and dolls through auctions, foreign websites and during my travels. Of course, I bought some of the pieces through Qatari groups that specialised in antiques.”
Hessa Al Kuwari's collection, old toys and antique dolls, (2020) by Hessa Al KuwariNational Museum of Qatar
Hessa Al Kuwari
“The collection that I have contains a variety of family objects: European pieces, pieces from Southeast Asia, Arab pieces and some pieces from Qatar. There are also pieces I've received as gifts.”
Osman Ahmed's collection, sneakers, (2020) by Osman AhmedNational Museum of Qatar
Osman Ahmed
Osman Ahmed collects sneakers. “My love for sneakers started at an early age. My cousins were my source of what was considered trendy in London at the time. At university I worked part-time at Nike retail where I gained more knowledge on sneaker culture and footwear technology.”
Osman Ahmed
“From that, my interest grew into not just wearing sneakers, but also collecting them. To fund my collecting habit, I participated in sneaker reselling, which was fairly new at the time compared to the industry it is today.“
Osman Ahmed's collection, sneakers, (2020) by Osman AhmedNational Museum of Qatar
Osman Ahmed
“Fast forward 20 years later, and here I am collecting sneakers in Doha. A majority of my collection, around 150 pairs, are very valuable, sought-after collectibles, but I still indulge in wearing some of them. They are sneakers after all and are meant to be worn.”
Gavin Casey' collection, Clarice Cliff pottery, (2020) by Gavin CaseyNational Museum of Qatar
Gavin Casey
Gavin Casey is fascinated by Clarice Cliff’s ceramic designs. “Clarice Cliff (1899-1972) was one of the most influential ceramic designers of the 20th Century. Her designs took the ordinary and transformed it into the extraordinary.”
Gavin Casey' collection, Clarice Cliff pottery, (2020) by Gavin CaseyNational Museum of Qatar
Gavin Casey
“She took art deco motifs and applied them to everyday utilitarian items. Working in Stoke-on-Trent in the United Kingdom in the 1930’s, Cliff is estimated to have produced over 2,000 different patterns from the traditional to the abstract.”
Gavin Casey' collection, Clarice Cliff pottery, (2020) by Gavin CaseyNational Museum of Qatar
Gavin Casey
“I have been collecting Clarice for over twenty years now, and I still find new examples of her work around the world.”
Shaikha Albalam's childhood collection, toy cars, (2020) by Shaikha AlbalamNational Museum of Qatar
Shaikha Albalam
Shaikha Albalam collects objects related to childhood from books to toys. “My passion for children and childhood drew me into collecting objects related to children’s stories and novels that show their unlimited imagination, their innocent absurdity, their fictional characters.”
Shaikha Albalam's childhood collection, Arabic Batman comic book, (2020) by Shaikha AlbalamNational Museum of Qatar
Shaikha Albalam
“I love their details, their colors, and their content. I am keen on collecting and acquiring these objects from every corner of the world. I am interested in amazing cars with beautiful colors. I love the small ones and I am keen to collect and keep everything I find.”
Shaikha Albalam's childhood collection, car collectibles, (2020) by Shaikha AlbalamNational Museum of Qatar
Shaikha Albalam
“I am fascinated by beautiful dolls, their colorful and frilly clothes and their elegant hairstyles. These objects are exciting, and open up a world of imagination, full of reassurances and innocent amusement.”
