Rashid Johnson (b. 1977, United States of America) began his art practice in the late 1990s, making large-format photographic portraits while receiving his undergraduate degree from Columbia College in Chicago. Since then, Johnson’s practice includes painting, sculpture, film and installation, addressing issues of identity and memory.
Village of the Sun by Rashid Johnson
Rashid Johnson’s 2024 installation acts as a reminder of the multicultural and diverse people that make up the wider community in Qatar.
Photo: Shaikha Ahmed Ali, courtesy of Qatar Museums ©2026
Photo: Shaikha Ahmed Ali, courtesy of Qatar Museums ©2026
Located at the park in front of the Doha International Airport (DIA), which first opened in 2005, Village of the Sun is in a central area that welcomed visitors of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. It acts as a reminder of the multicultural and diverse people who make up the wider community in Qatar.
Stemming from Johnsons’ Broken Men series (2013), Village of the Sun comprises four walls tiled with multicoloured ceramic figures that are easily recognisable yet abstracted at the same time. Here, Johnson pays homage to the long history and practice of mosaics as a fine craft that operates between various artistic mediums, while also elevating it into the discourse of contemporary art. Throughout, these figures express various levels of colourful dynamism, allowing the visitor to relate and recognise themselves within the work at large, highlighting our shared humanity.
