Stolen Past

Hrair Sarkissian presents a solo exhibition entitled Stolen Past, focusing on the collection of the Raqqa Museum in Northern Syria, which was looted by Islamic State between 2013 and 2017. The show features a series of lithophanes 3D-printed by the artist that reveal images of destroyed or lost artefacts from Raqqa, ranging from ceramic vessels to clay tablets and ancient figurines. Stolen Past draws attention to the determined local efforts to recover cultural heritage, while also highlighting the damage caused by the global illicit trade in antiquities. By making absence visible, the exhibition invites audiences to reflect on cultural erasure, collective memory and the systems that enable the displacement of heritage. 

Co-commissioned by the Aichi Triennial and Ibraaz.