The 10 artworks that inspired Louvre Abu Dhabi’s new roadside gallery

The exhibit launches on Sunday and includes seven giant reproduction billboards and three huge replica sculptures inspired by pieces from the museum

Guanyin, Bodhisattva of Compassion from Jin or northern Song dynasty dated to 1050-1150. Courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi / Thierry Ollvier

Woman dressed in a woollen garment from the Oxus civilization dating to 2300-1700 BCE. Courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi / Thierry Ollivier

A steell Turban helmet with silver inlays from Aq-Qoyunlu or Ottoman Turkey. Courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi / Thierry Ollivier

Japanese armour bearing the coat of arms of the feudal lord Nabeshima Yoshishige. Courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi / Thierry Ollivier

Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 also called Portrait of the Artist's Mother by James Abbott McNeil. Courtesy Musee d'Orsay / Patrice Schmidt

Édouard Manet's The Bohemian, 1861-1862. Courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi / Thierry Ollivier

Oil on canvas The Ballroom at Arles by Vincent van Gogh, 1888. Courtesy Grand Palais / Hervé Lewandowski

1927 painting by Joan Miro, France. Copyright Successió Miró, / ADAGP. Courtesy Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI / Philippe Migeat / Dist. RMN-GP

The Huntress dated 1680-1700, India. Gouache on cloth with gold highlights. Courtesy Department Of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi - Photo by AFP

The Marawah Vase was uncovered on Marwah Island and dates to about 5500 BCE. Courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism -  Abu Dhabi

The drive along the E11 from Dubai heading into the Capital is about to get a lot more interesting with Louvre Abu Dhabi's second Highway Gallery.

Launching on Sunday, the showcase is inspired by 10 pieces from the museum’s collection of over 600 artworks. Motorists travelling along the E11 will pass seven, 10-metre high billboards and three 3D-replica sculptures as they cruise along the 100km stretch of road.

Drivers will have the option to tune into Radio 1, Classic FM or Emarat FM for a 30-second description about each piece that will begin as cars approach each work.

A giant Buddhist sculpture replica that is a reproduction of the ancient wooden Guanyin, Bodhisattva of Compassion from China and a replica piece of a 4,000-year-old Bactarian Princess statuette from Central Asia have already been erected. Also in place is a Turban helmet replica of an Ottoman piece of attire and a 3D-model of armour bearing the coat of arms of the feudal lord Nabeshima Yoshishige from China that dates to the 1700s.

Over the next two days the remaining artworks will be put in place. Among these will be a reproduction of the 1871 Portrait of the Artist's Mother by James Whistler, commonly referred to as Whistler's Mother. A piece by French modernist Edouard Manet entitled The Bohemian is also set to make an appearance as will Vincent van Gogh's The Ballroom at Arles, a painting which dates to the time that the troubled artist's career was at a peak. A replica of a painting by artist Joan Miro from 1927 depicts the Spanish artist's love of surrealism.

Rounding off the gallery is an Indian gouache print on cloth with gold highlights entitled The Huntress. The final exhibit has close ties to home, it's a replica of The Marawah Vase, a terracotta artefact that was unearthed in one of the oldest villages in the UAE.