Ammunition sculptures, archaeological artefacts in Palestine
Bronze ammunition replicas of a small Cold War-era Russian nuclear bomb make up a sculptural installation entitled ‘Archaeology of Absence’. The ten bronze and aluminium sculptures by Larissa Sansour are on display alongside photographs at the Art Encounters Biennale in Timisoara.
Each capsule is engraved with the geographical coordinates of places in the Palestinian territory where hand-painted porcelain plates with traditional motifs – keffiyeh – have been buried. All this after a real in situ performance.
Larissa Sansour, „Arheologia absenței”, curatorial
Fifteen porcelains have been strategically buried in various locations in Palestine/Israel, in collaboration with local art institutions, to be discovered by archaeologists at some point in the future.
Once unearthed, they will challenge current versions of history, resulting in a critical reinterpretation of history.
The installation reflects themes such as cultural memory, geopolitical tensions and the reinterpretation of historical narratives.
Larissa Sansour, „Arheologia absenței” (detaliu), curatorial
Larissa Sansour, born in 1973 in East Jerusalem and based in London, is a Palestinian artist who studied in the British capital as well as in New York and Copenhagen. At the centre of her work is a dialectic between myth, documentary and historical narrative. She mainly makes films, installations, photographs and sculptures. In 2019, she represented Denmark at the 58th Venice Biennale. He has exhibited at Tate Modern, MoMA and Centre Pompidou.
Bienala Art Encounters, curated by Ana Janevski (MoMA New York) and Tevž Logar (independent curator), is hosted by three venues in Timișoara – the Garrison Commissariat, Faber and the Art Encounters Foundation – until 13 July 2025.
