Monira Al Qadiri — BENZENE FLOAT (Ethane), 2026
Monira Al Qadiri — BENZENE FLOAT (Para-xylene), 2026
Monira Al Qadiri — BENZENE FLOAT (Benzo-pyrene), 2026

BENZENE FLOAT transforms microscopic molecular structures of petrochemical compounds into monumental inflatable sculptures. Enlarged from scientific models, these forms combine the bright colours and buoyancy of parade floats with the geometric beauty of molecules. For Al Qadiri, they are “both very beautiful and very menacing at the same time”. They render molecular structures normally encountered only through scientific models at an immense scale. The compounds they represent form the basis of fuels, plastics and countless manufactured materials that move through global networks of extraction, transport and trade. Floating at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône, where goods, people and ideas have moved between northern and southern Europe for centuries, Al Qadiri’s molecules bring that history into dialogue with the petrochemical industries that underpin Lyon’s economy and continue to shape the Rhône corridor today.

Monira Al Qadiri’s practice is rooted in research into the global oil industry, the legacy of fossil fuels and the logics of their extraction and exploitation. Through research, science fiction, autobiography and humour, the artist brings into tension two opposing forces that run through human history: seduction, driven by a desire for abundance, comfort and consumption and destruction, through the ecological consequences of these very desires. Her works thus take on a tragic dimension, articulated through a visual language that draws on science fiction and pop culture.