Julie Mehretu creates immersive set design for an opera ‘Nine Jewelled Deer

This summer, the world of contemporary opera is witnessing a rare and powerful convergence of music, myth, and visual art, as the acclaimed visual artist Julie Mehretu unveils a new body of work created for the premiere of The Nine Jewelled Deer. The opera, presented by LUMA Arles in collaboration with the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, debuted on July 6th in Arles and continues its run through July 16th in Aix-en-Provence.

The project brings together a formidable team of creative voices: composer Sivan Eldar, singer-improviser Ganavya Doraiswamy, director Peter Sellars, writer Lauren Groff, and Mehretu herself, whose evocative visual language shapes the opera’s emotional landscape. At the heart of this collaboration is a meditation on transformation, compassion, and the interwoven nature of human experience.

A myth reimagined through voice, image, and sound

The Nine Jewelled Deer draws on a triad of stories that span cultures and centuries. From an ancient Chinese myth of a drowning man saved by a mystical deer, to a modern Indian kitchen where an elderly woman heals broken spirits through song, to a secluded garden transformed into a spiritual refuge—the opera is a poetic journey through the many faces of enlightenment.

Julie Mehretu’s role in the production goes beyond traditional set design. Her paintings, created specifically for this opera, function as both visual architecture and emotional resonance. Layered, abstract, and charged with motion, these five new Julie Mehretu artworks evoke the shifting terrains of the opera’s themes—migration, trauma, rebirth. The lighting by James F. Ingalls brings her pieces to life, creating an ever-evolving visual atmosphere on stage.

Julie Mehretu paintings as spiritual portals

Known for her dynamic, politically charged works, Julie Mehretu brings an entirely new dimension to the stage with this project. Her signature aesthetic—layered abstraction, spatial ambiguity, and emotional intensity—provides not just a backdrop but a spiritual context for the unfolding narrative. These Julie Mehretu paintings serve as portals, guiding the audience into a realm where past, present, and myth converge.

Step into the mind of Mehretu, one of today’s most influential artists, as she reflects on abstraction, time, and the emotional power of painting. In our interview, Julie Mehretu discusses the layers behind her process and how art helps us confront both memory and modernity.