Hrair Sarkissian's Stolen Past at Ibraaz London memorializes Raqqa Museum's lost artifacts

Conceptual photographer Hrair Sarkissian's exhibition Stolen Past at Ibraaz London uses 3D-printed lithophanes to represent looted or destroyed artifacts from the Raqqa Museum in northern Syria. The installation features waist-height plinths with celestial blue lids, each containing ghost-like porcelain objects. Visitors walk among the plinths to view the fragile images, which are based on photographs taken hastily by Raqqa's archaeological team during the Islamic State (IS) insurgence that began in 2013. The museum's 8,000-piece historic collection was either displaced or destroyed after IS took over Raqqa. Sarkissian employs a lithophane technique developed in early 19th-century France, carving images into wax or plaster and firing porcelain negatives. The result is ethereal and shadow-like, offset by bright lighting. The installation has been described as a 'deathscape' and serves as both a burial and memorial. Sarkissian, trained by his photographer father, is involved with the Arab Image Foundation in Beirut, which preserves vernacular photography from the SWANA region. Stolen Past runs until 24 May at Ibraaz London.