Urban Intervals



The city of Doha, Qatar is undergoing rapid urban growth. In the last decade the population of the city has more than doubled,1 with the urban infrastructure struggling to keep pace.2 The urban identity itself is a victim of this growth, with many iconic districts and landmarks from the 80’s and 90’s being demolished to make room for modern infrastructure and new development. These districts, patterns of infrastructure, and daily behavior are not generally valued as culturally relevant, despite the fact that they carry great significance to the actual cultural identity of the city.
    The Urban Intervals hand-knotted carpet is the first entry in a series of carpets that explore unconventional cultural elements in the gulf region. Urban Intervals focuses on Doha’s overlooked architectural landmarks from the 1980’s and 1990’s, abstracting them into visual patterns and re-contextualizing them into the cultural format of the Islamic carpet, where viewers are prompted to engage with them as cultural elements.
Patterns of Human Behavior is a series of hand-made carpets used as a mechanism to document unconventional cultural patterns, local identities, and urban behaviors. Each of these carpets is carefully hand-made preserving the traditional islamic carpet practices of preparing local wool, hand-dyeing the fiber with natural ingredients, and hand-tying the design one knot at a time.
    The series was conceived of by Levi Hammett, based on a previous research project by Levi Hammett & Pornprapha Phatanateacha. The carpet motifs were developed in collaboration with Maryam Al Homaid.
1. United Nations. Demographic Yearbook. United Nations, 2013. Retrieved August 2013. http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/

2. Qatar Statistics Authority. Population 2012. Qatar Statistics Authority, 2012. Retrieved August 2013. http://www.qsa.gov.qa/eng/publication/annabs/2012/1_Population2012.pdf
Hammett, Levi., Maryam Al Homaid, & Pornprapha Phatanateach. Urban Intervals. Hand-dyed wool, hand-knotted carpet. 104cm x 182cm. Edition of 3. 2013.

Exhibitions & Publications:

Edition 3 held in an anonymous private collection. (International). 2023.

Edition 2 held in the private collection of The NED, Doha, Qatar. (On public view, International). 2022.

Edition 1 held in the private collection of Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. Doha, Qatar. (International). 2018.

Studio 7, M7, Doha, Qatar. (Group Exhibition, National). January 2022 - December 2022.

Poonsap, Supakdipa. The Bubble Breakers (Feature article), Vogue Thailand. Bangkok, Thailand. Print. (National) August 2018.

Bangkok Design Week 2018, Thailand Creative Design Center, Bangkok, Thailand. (Juried, Group Exhibition, International). 26 January - 5 February, 2018.

Strange Wonders, Musheireb Enrichment Center, Doha, Qatar. (Juried, Group Exhibition, Catalog, National). April, 2014.

QPop, Design Days Dubai, Dubai, UAE. (Invited, Group Exhibition, Catalog, International). March 2014.

Hammett, Levi (Lead Author)., Pornprapha Phatanateacha, & Maryam Al Homaid. Cultural Camouflage: Transcribing Unconventional Cultural Patterns into Commercial Products. (Presentation). Tenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic, and Social Sustainability, Split, Croatia. (Juried, Presentation, International). January, 2014.

Khaleeji Contemporary. DFI Film Festival, Katara Art Center, Doha, Qatar. (Juried, Group Exhibition, National). 27-30 November, 2013.
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