Doha

- Over the course of 5 full months and in a daily work that sometimes took more than 18 hours, the artist Imad Al-Salhi completed the completion of the largest painting on an area of ​​​​9600 square meters.

The painting - which is called "The Story of a Ball" - tells the history of the FIFA World Cup tournaments, from the first tournament in 1930 until the current World Cup Qatar 2022.

Last Thursday, the Qatari Ministry of Culture announced the huge plastic artwork "The Story of a Ball", in preparation for its launch at Qatar University on December 7, with the aim of recording a new Guinness World Records record.

Maryam Al-Hammadi: The artwork expresses the legacy of football since the start of the World Cup (Qatari Press)

The Director of the Department of Culture and Arts at the Qatari Ministry of Culture, Maryam Yassin Al-Hammadi, confirmed, in a statement to Qatar News Agency, that the inauguration of the work comes within the framework of the Ministry's keenness to support creativity and creators, to respond to distinguished initiatives that are linked to lofty goals, and to sponsor experiments that enhance the link between science and work and bet on quality. and persistence.

Al-Hammadi explained that the artist Imad Al-Salhi embodies in his work a full stage of Qatari achievement that extends from 2012 to 2022, celebrating the symbols and landmarks of Qatari culture in sports, heritage and culture, and expressing the legacy of football since the start of the World Cup competitions.

World Cup details

For his part, the artist Imad Al-Salihi said, in exclusive statements to Al-Jazeera Net, that the artwork includes all the details of the previous tournaments, such as the type of ball used in each tournament, the host countries, the results, the scorers, the best players, the winning and runner-up teams, and the painting on its edges includes the masses of different cultures. And different categories, all of them carrying the flag of Qatar.

The painting carries many landmarks and symbols of the State of Qatar (Al-Jazeera)

He pointed out that the painting consists of Arabic letters symbolizing the entire history of the World Cup, explaining that he tried to merge eastern and other cultures through this work.

He added that he used 9,600 square meters of fabric to complete the artwork, in addition to more than 3,000 liters of dyes and 150 brushes, as well as continuous work daily between 15 and 18 hours, given that it takes 610 square meters per week to complete it in the required time.

Al-Salhi indicated that the artwork was completed in the City Center mall in Doha on the third floor on an area of ​​610 meters by using separate rolls of drawing papers.

He explained that the area of ​​the painting is the area of ​​the football field itself, and it was not possible to provide a stadium to be used for this purpose during the last period, and therefore this great work was completed in stages.

The artwork took 5 months, and 9,600 meters of fabric and 3,000 liters of dyes were used (Al-Jazeera)

Mixing cultures

The painting "The Story of a Ball" sets a world record in painting on canvas and plastic art, and its idea is pioneering in drawing the history of the World Cup on this large area, in a mixture of different cultures.

The artist uses the expressionist and abstract method in his painting, as the vision of colors throughout the painting suggests to the viewer that he is in a festival of colors and lines.

Al-Salhi pointed out that the idea started by thinking of a small drawing on the size of a small regular paper, which is 30 cm by 21 cm, and then the idea grew to be on an area of ​​​​9600 square meters, explaining that there was communication with various parties such as the Projects and Legacy Committee and the Museums Authority. Qatar and the Qatari Ministry of Culture until the idea crystallized in its current form.

Al-Salhi won 50 international awards and participated in more than 200 international festivals (Al-Jazeera)

He explained that an agreement was reached with Al-Faisal Holding Group, and implementation began in the City Center complex, and the work was adopted by the Qatari Ministry of Culture until the work was completed within 5 months.

Expressive artwork

The current record for large-scale works of art is held by British artist Sacha Jeffrey for his painting "The Journey of Humanity", which covers an area of ​​1,580 square metres.

Al-Salihi, 44, who was born in Ahvaz, Iran, praised the great positive support provided by the Qatari Ministry of Culture so that this work would come to light - despite the lack of time - coinciding with the start of the 2022 World Cup.

"The Story of a Ball" is a work of art that carries a mixture of different cultures (Al-Jazeera)

The artist Al-Salihi had received more than 50 international awards, including the UNESCO Prize for the Fusion of Cultures in Paris with the support of the Qatari Ministry of Culture, and awards in Italy, South Korea and Portugal, and he participated in more than 200 international festivals.