The big empty city: Doha

Doha, Qatar, is a vast city of liminal spaces

In 2022 I traveled to Doha on my way to Europe and spent a few days checking out the city. I had a surprisingly good time and enjoyed the multicultural cuisine and interesting (ergo, strange) architecture.

Doha has a very strange feel to it. It’s a city that rose from the desert in rapid succession, and much of what you see is no older than 30 years.

The city is vast. And it is empty. And it is strange.

Qatar has the highest carbon dioxide emissions per capita in the world. Though, for such a small country, this isn’t hard to believe. I visited an outdoor shopping street that was air-conditioned. There were literal vents in the ground with cool air coming out so people could shop in comfort (Qatar sees extremely high and humid temperatures all year round).

When I visited in October, Doha was in the midst of finalising construction for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in November, though much of the new, purpose-built infrastructure was incomplete. I have no idea how they pulled it together so quickly (something something modern slavery?).

I think Doha is the definition of a liminal space

The internet has come together recently on the idea of the liminal space, or the backrooms as some call it.

If you don’t know what that is, a liminal space is a place that just feels lonely, or melancholic, for an unknown reason. It’s a place that should be swarming with people, but feels empty or abandoned. Think of a school or shopping centre at night, without any people.

In Qatar’s case, the city seems to have gone with a “build and they shall come” mentality, and they have not come yet. It has created this strange atmosphere of vast emptiness, where tall buildings surround you and grand plazas stretch for kilometres, but you are the only one around.

I absolutely love the idea of the liminal space and it’s something I am trying to incorporate into my photography. I think Greg Girard does this really well in his work, especially his work in China. Greg is a big inspiration to me, and his work is something I aspire to create.

I hope these images convey this idea and these feelings of melancholic as they do for me.