There is something extraordinary about the way nature creates beauty in the most unexpected places. For Nikita Erokhin, Founder and Creative Director of Dubai-based collectible design studio KAMEH, the desert has always been a source of inspiration, its seemingly barren landscapes revealing intricate formations, unexpected textures and remarkable geometries. At Design Doha 2026, that fascination takes on a monumental new form with Desert Rose, a sculptural installation that challenges the boundaries between furniture, art and architecture.
Stretching four and a half metres in length, the work takes the form of a table dramatically intersected by crystalline structures rising more than two metres high. Inspired by the naturally occurring desert rose, the installation transforms a familiar functional object into something altogether more architectural. Its angular formations invite visitors to move around the piece, discovering new perspectives and engaging with its powerful sculptural presence.
For Erokhin, who was born in Turkmenistan and has long called the Gulf home, the connection to the desert is deeply personal. “I was born in a desert landscape and it has continued to inform my life and creative output. Where people see barrenness, I see wonder. Nature finds a way to thrive,” she says.
The choice of Qatar as the setting for this ambitious work carries particular significance. The desert rose, formed through the crystallisation of minerals in arid environments, is also the natural phenomenon behind Jean Nouvel’s striking design for the National Museum of Qatar. By exploring the same geometry through collectible design, KAMEH establishes a dialogue between the region’s landscape, its architectural identity and a contemporary creative language.
“It’s an honour to be showing a piece inspired by the desert rose at Design Doha in a country where its symbolism and perfect geometry have been harnessed to such wonderful effect,” Erokhin explains.
The installation represents a natural progression from KAMEH’s Collection 0.6, unveiled at Design Miami in December 2025. With its sculptural silhouettes, dyed wood and contrasting tones, the collection explored the geometry of crystalline formations through individual collectible objects. Desert Rose takes that exploration further, pushing the studio’s creative vocabulary beyond furniture into the realm of immersive installations.
“The new work is bolder in scale but builds on my exploration of presenting natural structures in unexpected ways,” says Erokhin.
Founded in Dubai in 2022, KAMEH has established a distinctive identity within the world of collectible design, where experimentation and craftsmanship exist in equal measure. Every piece is handcrafted in collaboration with skilled artisans across the UAE, placing regional expertise and local production at the heart of the studio’s practice.
Yet beyond its remarkable scale and technical ambition, Desert Rose speaks to something more fundamental: our relationship with physical objects and the environments we inhabit. At a time when much of contemporary life unfolds through screens, Erokhin’s work encourages a return to materiality, movement and sensory experience.
“In an increasingly digital world, physical objects and how we relate to them are ever more important,” she says.
It is this philosophy that makes Desert Rose more than an exercise in monumental design. The installation encourages visitors to experience the work physically, moving around its towering forms and reconsidering the relationship between an object, its function and the space it occupies.
Presented as part of Design Doha Biennial 2026, which brings together creative voices from Qatar and across the MENASA region, Desert Rose also reflects the growing ambition of the region’s collectible design scene. It is a reminder that contemporary design can be rooted in the natural world while remaining boldly experimental, and that the most compelling objects often exist somewhere between utility and imagination.
For KAMEH, the desert is not an empty landscape but an endless source of possibility.
For more stories of art and culture from across the region, visit our dedicated archives and follow us on Instagram.
