The Caliph Seeks Asylum
A site-specific sculptural revision of the Arab psyche.
3,500 recyclable PVC pipes, GAM Turin, 2019
Two temporary structures resembling tents, One for a Caliph of an Islamic state whose ideology has been rejected and sent into exile, the other for a refugee displaced as a result of the devastation inflicted by the former. The two structures are stranded in a foreign land left to negotiate a way back to a peaceful home.
The installation made of about 3,500 PVC pipes on a makeshift camp site is intended to appear to be outside the context of time and place. This installation is part of Muhannad Shono’s exploration of a revisionist history of the Arab psyche. Muhannad Shono is revisiting the historical record as it was taught to him in the classroom and its impact on his Arab psyche – he rejects the inference that self esteem is directly linked to victory on the battlefield - and suspends that “lesson” in time.
The installation stands as a speculative campsite for a Caliph expelled into exile as well as a refugee camp for those stranded far away from home. It is a node in a historical timeline serving as a meeting point for those who would like to negotiate a resolution between ideologies, some in a state of adoption and others rejection. A camp site for the fighters that sought to reestablish myths of lost glories, and for the exodus of humanity their conflicts have caused to meet and discuss a new way forward.
Shono suggests a return to glory, that of the Golden Age of Baghdad, not through the resurrecting of caliphates, but through the rebuilding of Arab Houses of Wisdom.
The project was specifically conceived for the GAM Museum and is realized in collaboration with Athr Gallery, Jeddah and thanks to the support of Leading Law Notai e Avvocati, Turin.
