Akram Zaatari
AKRAM ZAATARI
three snapshots and a long exposure
April 27 – August 27, 2022
hamburg
Tabnit Monolith, 2022
The Tabnit Monolith, 2022, installed hanging from a simple and primitive crane, is a replica of a giant monolithic boulder that sealed king Tabnit’s tomb almost 1900 years before it was completely destroyed during its excavation in 1887. King Tabnit was a Phoenician king, who ruled Saida in the 6th century BC. The discovery of his mummy alongside 19 sarcophagi in what became known as Sidon’s Necropolis was one of the earliest achievements of Ottoman archaeology under the leadership of Osman Hamdi Bey.
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An Extraordinary Event, 2018
An Extraordinary Event, 2018, was based on Hamdi Bey’s photographs of those finds displayed in the citrus grove immediately upon their excavation, with workers and diggers standing often in the background. Zaatari erases their central object to highlight the location and people who appear in the background.
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Akram Zaatari, An Extraordinary Event, 2018, 8 inkjet prints, 35 x 56 cm each
