Abbas Akhavan's Palmyra-inspired installation at Chisenhale Gallery questions heritage reconstruction
At Chisenhale Gallery in London, Abbas Akhavan's 2021 installation, 'curtain call, variations on a folly,' reinterprets the colonnade of Palmyra's Arch of Triumph using cob, offering a critique of the recent restorations of the Arch that was destroyed by the Islamic State in 2015. In 2016, a 3D-printed version was showcased in Trafalgar Square, produced by Oxford University, Harvard University, and the UAE's Museum of the Future. Born in Tehran and now residing in Montreal, Akhavan examines themes of non-linear history and 'disaster tourism' related to Palmyra, where antiquities expert Khaled al-Asaad was killed. The installation features a green platform, a low bass soundtrack, and a rooftop inscription reading 'CAT'S PAW.' The exhibition is open from 14 August to 17 October, prompting reflections on heritage reproduction.
Key facts
- Abbas Akhavan's installation 'curtain call, variations on a folly' (2021) is on view at Chisenhale Gallery in London from 14 August to 17 October
- The work recreates the colonnade approaching Palmyra's Arch of Triumph using cob, an ancient material of subsoil, straw, and water
- Palmyra's Arch of Triumph was destroyed by Islamic State in 2015 and later 3D-printed at two-thirds scale for display in London's Trafalgar Square in 2016
- The 2016 replica was a joint venture between Oxford University, Harvard University, and the UAE's Museum of the Future
- Islamic State murdered 82-year-old antiquities head Khaled al-Asaad in Palmyra in 2015
- The installation includes a green platform referencing cinematic green screens and a soundtrack of low bass and pink noise
- A rooftop message 'CAT'S PAW' from Jean de La Fontaine's 1679 fable is visible only from above
- Akhavan previously used dirt ramming in 'Variations on Ghost' (2017) to form an Assyrian Lamassu claw
Entities
Artists
- Abbas Akhavan
- Jean de La Fontaine
Institutions
- Chisenhale Gallery
- Oxford University
- Harvard University
- Museum of the Future
- Islamic State
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Tehran
- Iran
- Montreal
- Canada
- Palmyra
- Syria
- Trafalgar Square