Northwestern Qatar's Media Majlis Explores Cultural Power Of Memes

Doha, Qatar: Memes may seem like fleeting jokes scrolling past on screens, but at Northwestern University in Qatar's (NU-Q) Media Majlis Museum, they are the subject of an innovative exhibition that explores their deeper cultural, political, and social weight.

Titled 'Memememememe', the exhibition co-curated by Curator of Art, Media and Technology Jack Thomas Taylor and Assistant Curator Amal Zeyad Ali, opened yesterday. It examines memes as both playful and profound tools of humour, protest, identity, and influence that shape contemporary consciousness.

The exhibition dissects memes through four thematic lenses: Mass, Length, Time, and Volume borrowing from measurements of everyday life to reflect on how memes circulate, mutate, and carry meaning across societies. Set within a laundromat-inspired installation, the exhibition symbolically captures the endless“washing cycles” of memes, their repetition, transformation, and occasional loss of meaning.

For Taylor, the idea began with a fascination for memes as cultural barometers. He noted that while memes may appear trivial, they constantly shift across generations and geographies, carrying nuanced layers of meaning.“What fascinates me is how something that seems so lighthearted can spark commentary, inspire protests, or even influence politics,” he told The Peninsula.

Director of the Media Majlis Museum Alfredo Cramerotti, Dean and CEO of Northwestern University in Qatar Marwan M. Kraidy, Curator of Art, Media and Technology Jack Thomas Taylor, and Assistant Curator Amal Zeyad Ali at the opening of the Memememememe exhibition.

That curiosity led him to connect memes with the broader human obsession with measurement. From childhood height charts and clothing sizes to adulthood's fixation with productivity, time, and weight, Taylor reflected on how measurement has long been tied to control.“Measurement has a colonial history, but it's also something we've domesticated into everyday life,” he said.“I wanted to take those familiar ways of measuring and apply them to memes, to unpack their meaning.” This thinking inspired the laundromat setting of the exhibition. Just as clothes cycle endlessly through washes, Taylor sees memes as capable of“washing” communication spinning, reframing, and reshaping narratives. He stressed that this duality is central to the exhibition. While memes entertain, they are also entangled in hidden systems of influence.

“Memes may look trivial, but they're never innocent,” Taylor said.“Behind every meme are algorithms, advertisers, and cultural forces. Sharing one isn't neutral, it's always part of a larger structure.”

The title“Memememememe” plays with repetition and self-reference.“It's three 'memes,' but when you read it, it becomes 'me, me, me, me, me,'” Taylor explained.

Roomba Cat by Eva and Franco Mattes, a taxidermy cat mounted on a functioning robotic vacuum cleaner

“It's about us, the way we use memes to communicate ourselves. It also works in Arabic, which was important for us.” For Northwestern University in Qatar, the exhibition underscores the university's mission to foster media literacy in an era where digital culture touches every aspect of life.

Dean and CEO Marwan M. Kraidy stressed the importance of studying memes as cultural artifacts.“They're a small unit of analysis, but they can build up to create real impact,” he said.

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“As Qatari society transitions from a hydrocarbon economy to a knowledge society, digital literacy is fundamental - not just for our students' careers but for society's future.”

The Media Majlis, now in its fifth year, marks a milestone with this 10th exhibition. Its director, Alfredo Cramerotti, described the museum as an academic hub where art, media, and technology intersect.“We bring together social scientists, political thinkers, and artists to reflect on what we often take for granted - from memes to media - and to propose new ways of seeing,” he said.

Jack Thomas Taylor, Curator of Art, Media and Technology

Featured artists include Alia Leonardi (Switzerland), Andreas Refsgaard (Denmark), Mauro C. Martinez (USA), Anne Horel (France), Orkhan Mammadov (Azerbaijan), Eman Makki (UAE), SEOHYO (South Korea), Abdullah Al Jahdhami (Saudi Arabia), Cem A, Jeroen Van Loon (Netherlands), as well as works by Christine Wang (USA) and Eva and Franco Mattes (Italy).

Among the highlights is Roomba Cat by Eva and Franco Mattes, a taxidermy cat mounted on a functioning robotic vacuum cleaner, echoing a viral video that once captivated the internet. Speaking about the artwork, Franco Mattes said that the piece is a sculptural interpretation of a viral online video from around 2013 that inspired countless variations featuring different animals riding robotic vacuums. 'Memememememe' runs Sunday to Thursday, 10am to 8pm at the Media Majlis Museum, Northwestern University in Qatar's Education City campus.

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