Michael Rakowitz was born in New York, 1973, is based in Chicago and New York. His work has appeared in venues worldwide including P.S.1, MoMA, MassMOCA, Castello di Rivoli, Sharjah Biennial 8, Tirana Biennale, National Design Triennial at the Cooper-Hewitt and Transmediale 05. He has had solo exhibitions at Lombard-Freid Projects in New York, Alberto Peola Arte Contemporanea in Torino and Stadtturmgalerie/Kunstraum, Innsbruck. His recent public project, “Return” was presented by Creative Time in New York. He is the recipient of a Sharjah Biennial Jury’s Award, the 2006 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship Grant in Architecture and Environmental Structures, the 2003 Dena Foundation Award and the 2002 Design 21 Grand Prix from UNESCO. Rakowitz is an Associate Professor in Art Theory and Practice at Northwestern University and a contributing editor for Surface Tension: A Journal on Spatial Arts.
The invisible enemy should not exist
“The invisible enemy should not exist” 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.
The exhibition’s name comes from the direct translation of ‘Aj-ibur-shapu’, the ancient Babylonian processional way that ran through the Ishtar Gate.
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.
Drawings reveal further narratives, including that of Dr. Donny George, former Director of the National Museum of Iraq. Under Saddam Hussein, Dr. George worked at archeological sites to avoid Ba’ath Party meetings and also sidelined as a drummer in a band that specialized in Deep Purple covers. A version of their “Smoke on the Water,” commissioned from NY-based Arabic band ‘Ayyoub’, provides sound for the exhibition.
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