Yateem Excavation (2020). Installation; aluminium foil pressings, photographs, prints on aluminium.
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This “excavation” undertakes the seemingly futile act of documenting the transitory state of a floor undergoing reconstruction at a “historical” site in Bahrain. The site, which was in the process of being transformed into a location for Al Riwaq Arts Space, was located in Yateem Centre, one of the first shopping centres in Bahrain. Working with a team of amateur “archaeologists”, we set out to create pressings in aluminum foil of the markings on a floor that was to be demolished in 3 weeks time. The delicate foil pressings, photographs, and texts are all that remains of this fleeting moment of time, revealing the preciousness and fragility of both spaces and the experience of them in a place and region undergoing significant and rapid change.
An excavation log accompanying this work may be viewed here.
As installed in Post Fiction: Manama, Al Riwaq Art Space (2022).