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It seems like an easy way to send money up in smoke.

But a fireworks exhibit that took place in broad daylight in Doha, Qatar has impressed art lovers.

Black Ceremony is the work of Cai Guo-Qiang, a Chinese national based in New York City and the world’s foremost gunpowder artist.

It kicked off his new exhibit at the Arab Museum of Modern Art in the Qatari capital.

And while a daytime fireworks display may seem an odd choice, the use of pastel-coloured and black smoke made it a stand-out performance.

Cai, who dazzled millions with his fireworks display at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, collaborated with the Grucci family, behind the 4th of July firework in New York City, for the project.

They used anti-missile decoys used by the military to create the display.

Using 8,000 shells and two months of planning, the exhibit lasted a matter of minutes.

Felix Grucci, the executive vice president of Grucci Fireworks, said: ‘This is a daylight performance which is unusual for pyrotechnics – normally it’s in the evening. Every item out there was custom designed for this exhibit.’

The cost hasn’t been revealed, but it was covered by the Qatar Museam Authority.

And as the fastest growing economy in the world with a GDP per capita of around $101,000, spending money on a daytime fireworks exhibit was no gamble for Qatar.

Mayassa Bint Hamad al Thani, from the museum, said: ‘I thought it was spectacular. We were just talking about a second series of gunpowder so for those who missed it there will be another opportunity.’

Cai’s exhibit at the Arab Museum of Modern Art is entitled Saraab – or Mirage.

Through firework and smoke displays, it aims to ‘explore the historic and contemporary iconography of the Arabian Gulf, as well as the Islamic history of Quanzhou.

‘They also address the ambiguity of Qatar and China’s relationships to one another, and Cai’s own creative development over a lifetime.’

Attending the display, Cai, whose outspoken Chinese contemporary Ai Wei Wei was recently held by police, said he had seen his country develop.

‘After working on the Olympics and creating an exhibition in the world expo in 2010, I do feel that Chinese society is evolving and opening up,’ he told Al Jazeera.