At a glance
- What: I’d rather be a dragonfly than a lion, Saudi artist Mohammad Alfaraj’s first solo exhibition in a French institution.
- When: until 18 January 2027, in Gallery 8 of the Fondation Louis Vuitton, in the Bois de Boulogne, Paris.
- How much: free access with a ticket for the Gustave Fayet exhibition, €18 full price, €10 or €5 reduced.
- Must-sees: five stop-motion films, just over 25 minutes in all, set in an oasis-like installation.
- Next: Mathaf in Doha will devote a solo exhibition to the artist in 2028.
For the 19th instalment of its Open Space programme, the Fondation Louis Vuitton has handed its Gallery 8 to Mohammad Alfaraj, an artist born in 1993 in the Al-Ahsa oasis, Saudi Arabia. Opened on 9 October 2026, the installation can be visited until 18 January 2027 with a ticket for the Gustave Fayet exhibition.
Why a dragonfly rather than a lion?
The title comes from a popular belief in Al-Ahsa, as the Fondation explains: seeing a dragonfly circle around you at sunset is said to herald good news. In the local dialect, the insect is called Abu Basheer, “the one who brings good news”. By choosing the dragonfly over the lion, the artist sets fragility, attentiveness and coexistence against power and domination.
Five stop-motion films, 25 minutes
Five animated films play one after another, each a self-contained tale that Mohammad Alfaraj writes, builds, shoots, animates and narrates in his own voice. The Date Fruit of Knowledge (2022, 12 min 39 s), created during the AlUla Artist Residencies, follows a bird carved from a date in search of the fruit holding all knowledge. The other four, from 2026, were produced with the support of the Fondation Louis Vuitton : The Tongue of the Palm Tree (2 min 45 s), A Stone That Weighs as Much as a Feather (5 min 32 s), Fishboy (3 min), the story of a half-boy, half-fish creature taken in by a baker, and The reflection of Fire on the Eyes of a Bat (1 min 30 s). Allow just over 25 minutes to see them all.
What to see in Gallery 8?
The floor is covered with sand and stones; dried palm fronds hang in front of large drawings of palm groves, and the projections stand on palm trunks donated by the town of Hyères. On the ceiling, a photograph opens up the view as if looking at the sky from the bottom of a well. In the centre, a suspended bucket reveals a frog among reeds in its water, and a large spiral of fish and fishbones covers one wall.
Al-Ahsa, the oasis at the heart of the work
Mohammad Alfaraj lives and works in Al-Ahsa, a vast oasis in the east of the Arabian Peninsula. A mechanical engineering graduate, he combines writing, video, photography, drawing and sculpture. In the interview published by the Fondation, he recalls a family of farmers and the stop-motion cartoons of 1990s Saudi television: “I would rather spend an eternity making a five-minute film, jerky and raw, but emotionally moving.” Shown at the 16th Lyon Biennale (2022), the Diriyah Biennale (2024) and Desert X (2026), he is represented by Mennour in Paris and ATHR in Jeddah.
How much does a visit cost?
Open Space is free to enter with a ticket for the exhibition Gustave Fayet, Collector – Creator, shown in the rest of the building until 8 March 2027 (our article on the Gustave Fayet exhibition). Full price is €18 ; €10 for under-26s, students and teachers; €5 for under-18s, artists, tour guides and jobseekers; €36 for the family ticket. Entry is free for under-3s, among others, and for students on Thursdays. The ticket, to be booked online, also covers the Jardin d’Acclimatation. Opening hours vary: 10am to 8pm on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November, 11am to 8pm on Monday 16; the galleries close 15 minutes earlier.
| Exhibition | Open Space #19, I’d rather be a dragonfly than a lion |
| Artist | Mohammad Alfaraj (born 1993, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia) |
| Dates | 9 October 2026 to 18 January 2027 |
| Venue | Gallery 8, Fondation Louis Vuitton, 8 avenue du Mahatma Gandhi, Paris 16th |
| Curators | Claudia Buizza and Ludovic Delalande |
| Works | five stop-motion films (2022 and 2026), objects, photographs, drawings |
| Ticket | free with the Gustave Fayet ticket: €18, €10, €5, family €36 |
| Getting there | Les Sablons metro (line 1); shuttle from Étoile, €2 return |
After Paris, Doha in 2028
The exhibition is presented in partnership with Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, Qatar, which will in turn devote a solo exhibition to Mohammad Alfaraj in 2028. The Gulf art scene also gathers at Frieze Abu Dhabi, from 19 to 22 November.
Information checked on 14 November 2026. Sources: exhibition page, Fondation Louis Vuitton, exhibition brochure, interview with the artist, visitor information and ticket conditions of the Fondation Louis Vuitton.
