Reconstructing Artifacts
January 19, 2008
“The invisible enemy should not exist by Michael Rakowitz unfolds as an intricate narrative about artifacts stolen from the National Museum of Iraq, Baghdad, in the aftermath of the US invasion of April 2003; the current status of their whereabouts; and the series of events surrounding the invasion, the plundering and related protagonists. The centerpiece of the project is an ongoing series of sculptures that represent an attempt to reconstruct the looted archeological artifacts.
Reconstructions of the artifacts are made from the packaging of Middle Eastern foodstuffs and local Arabic newspapers, moments of cultural visibility found in cities across the US. This exhibition extends a commitment to recuperate the 7,000+ objects whose whereabouts remain unknown.”
