ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Bassam Issa Al-Sabah's Surreal Digital Worlds at FACT Liverpool

exhibition · 2026-04-23

Bassam Issa Al-Sabah presents a new body of work at FACT Liverpool, examining the dreamlike qualities of digital media through a CGI film and shattered sculptures. The exhibition, titled 'THE MISSION IS THE END, THE END IS ALL I WANT!' (2025), features fantastical characters navigating tension between following and resisting paths. Large-scale, hybrid sculptures evoke collapse and transformation. Al-Sabah critiques online spaces that flatten reality and distort self-perception, shaped by algorithms. Drawing from video game mechanics, he constructs immersive yet controlled environments, exploring fantasy as survival. The press release is from FACT Liverpool.

Key facts

  • Exhibition at FACT Liverpool titled 'THE MISSION IS THE END, THE END IS ALL I WANT!' (2025)
  • Artist Bassam Issa Al-Sabah works across digital animation, painting, sculpture, and textiles
  • Centerpiece is a new CGI film with fantastical characters
  • Large-scale shattered sculptures appear as hybrid objects
  • Al-Sabah critiques digital culture's glossy surfaces and algorithmic shaping of identity
  • Installation draws from video game mechanics and digital aesthetics
  • Fantasy is presented as a tool for survival rather than escape
  • Press release from FACT Liverpool

Entities

Artists

  • Bassam Issa Al-Sabah

Institutions

  • FACT Liverpool

Locations

  • Liverpool
  • United Kingdom

Sources