Pouce is César Baldaccini's trademark enlarged thumb, installed at a crossroads in Souq Waqif where historic alleyways meet contemporary sculpture. César began compressing cars and expanding body parts in the 1960s; the thumb series turns a casual gesture into bronze monument, here deliberately informal against the souq's mud-plaster facades.
Qatar Museums' programme of unexpected placements — major artists in markets, airports and desert — makes Pouce a favourite orienteering marker as much as an artwork.
Exhibo editorial
The souq is already theatre; César adds a prop you cannot miss. Everyone uses the thumb as a meeting point, which is public art working exactly as it should.
Visit in the evening when the souq is busiest and the bronze picks up warm light from shop fronts.
How to find it
Souq Waqif, central Doha. Enter from the Corniche or Al Souq Street and ask for César's thumb — locals know the landmark. Parking at the souq garages.
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