The fifth edition of the Louvre Abu Dhabi Art Here exhibition, held in partnership with the luxury Swiss watchmaking brand Richard Mille, will showcase contemporary art practice from 11 October to 28 December 2025. The architectural pavilion Choreography of a Cloud, Dancing Shadows, designed by YOKOMAE et BOUAYAD, explicitly blends Tokyo and Marrakesh design traditions, positioning their practice at the intersection of Japanese minimalism and Moroccan architectural complexity.
The Locus of Light and Absence: Louvre Abu Dhabi Art Here 2025
Conceived by guest curator Sophie Mayuko Arni around the theme of Shadows, the exhibition explores a visual effect that urges artists to examine the interplay between illumination and obscurity, visibility and concealment, and the layered dimensions of memory, identity, and transformation. Arni’s approach cultivates the presence of light through its very absence.
The curatorial theme draws upon shared aesthetic philosophies, establishing a transcultural bridge through art. In Arabian architectural tradition, this concept resonates deeply with the mashrabiya, a traditional element that modulates light, air, and visibility, offering a filtered perception of the exterior world. Simultaneously, the theme is rooted in Japanese philosophy, specifically referencing the concepts of In’Ei (shadows) and Ma (the sense of interval or emptiness).
The exhibition transforms its central courtyard, situated beneath the intricate dome, into a temporary gallery for bold, site-responsive artworks. The intent behind the Art Here exhibition is to select pieces that actively respond to their physical environment, ensuring that any work placed beneath the dome interacts profoundly with constantly shifting light and shadow. The successful shortlisted works, including Choreography of a Cloud, Dancing Shadows, are those that harness this existing architectural dynamism rather than simply occupying the space.
YOKOMAE et BOUAYAD: The Architecture of Hybridity
Founded in 2023, the architectural duo YOKOMAE et BOUAYAD, by the visionaries Takuma Yokomae from Japan and Dr. Ghali Bouayad from Morocco, embodies the transcultural dialogue sought by the Art Here 2025 exhibition. The holistic understanding of the environment guides the space between logic and intuition while emphasizing proportions and surroundings.
Drawing inspiration from nature to generate the fluidity that echoes the shadows, the installation achieves an effect of natural motion through a calculated architectural deference to air currents and light changes, turning its passive interaction with the environment into the artwork’s defining characteristic
Materiality, Sustainability, and the Poetics of Recycled Form
The pavilion by YOKOMAE et BOUAYAD extends beyond aesthetic integration into the realm of ethical materiality and sustainability. It utilizes recycled industrial materials in its construction, fostering the idea of a sustainable future where architecture becomes art. It demonstrates that the pursuit of aesthetic perfection and architectural innovation must be reconciled with environmental responsibility, a perspective that elevates the work beyond simple formal exploration and positions it as a statement on contemporary material culture.
The design features a pavilion-like structure crafted from stainless-steel mesh and supported by 152 ultra-thin columns. The structure’s upper element, the stainless-steel mesh, is directly inspired by Kawachi, an artisanal cotton weaving technique originating in Japan. This architectural choice represents a form of material abstraction, translating the softness of cotton into a resilient and reflective industrial material, ensuring it has the capacity to diffuse direct sunlight and air, casting highly intricate, textural shadow patterns.
The conscious choice of stainless steel for the monumental Louvre Abu Dhabi dome ensures the structure is environmentally durable. Inspired by the Okiagari Koboshi, the traditional Japanese toy that always finds its balance, each column is anchored on a spherical concrete base. As a result, the structure sways with a soft, almost organic motion that begins right where the column meets the earth.
New Phenomenology of Shadows
Choreography of a Cloud, Dancing Shadows, a selected entry, among five others, demonstrates an intrinsic paradox; while architecture is conventionally static, this installation embodies continuous motion. The kinetic quality remains passive, and its effect is achieved through the interaction of three key variables: the constantly changing direction of the sun, the ultra-lightweight stainless-steel mesh, and the multitude of vertical ultra-thin columns. The resulting movement is perpetual, producing shadows that change in shape, pattern, transparency, resolution, and scale.
Choreography of a Cloud, Dancing Shadows Project Details
Client: Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Richard Mille Art Prize
Location: Louvre Abu Dhabi, UAE
Floor area: 130.9 m²
Architects: YOKOMAE et BOUAYAD
Project team: Takuma Yokomae, Ghali Bouayad
Structural design: Nobuyuki Takimoto
Structure: woven stainless-steel mesh, stainless steel, and concrete
Construction contractor: Sun & Sea Advertising L.L.C.
Louvre Abu Dhabi guest curator: Sophie Mayuko Arni
Material sponsorship: ASADA MESH CO., LTD.
Photo Credits: © YOKOMAE et BOUAYAD
