Dominique White's Shipwreck Sculptures at Kunsthalle Basel

Dominique White (b. 1993) presents "All Great Powers Collapse from the Centre" at Kunsthalle Basel, an exhibition of sculptures that evoke submerged shipwrecks and collapsed systems. The works, made of iron, rope, and fabric, resist classification and refuse closure, bearing marks of corrosion and rupture. The ship motif appears as a shifting form—warship, cargo carrier, asylum seeker's vessel, fishing boat, luxury yacht, space-faring rocket—symbolizing organized power, extraction, and border-making. The exhibition is the third installment of White's "terror series," which explores self-destructing ships and alternative futurities. The title, borrowed from Dhoruba bin Wahad, former leader of the New York Black Panther Party, shifts focus from external escape to internal collapse. The installation creates a threshold space where movement slows and stability becomes precarious, as if walking along an ocean floor. The sculptures hold the weight of collapse without resolution, accumulating traces of abrasion and aftermath. The exhibition runs until May 17, 2026.