About this event
The Boghossian Foundation presents 'Shape of absence', an exhibition initiated at the invitation of Louma Salamé, which bears witness to the ongoing heritage tragedy unfolding in Syria since 2011. The exhibition is centered on Hrair Sarkissian’s monumental installation 'Stolen Past', presented in dialogue with Iconem’s immersive images of the site of Palmyra. A poignant reflection on disappearance, memory, and resilience. As cradle of ancient civilisations and major cultural crossroads, Syria has, since 2011, seen its heritage gravely threatened and exploited by war through destruction, looting, and the illegal antiquities trades. The exhibition seeks to bear witness to this ongoing tragedy while underscoring the urgent need to document sites in the face of the loss of millions of archaeological objects. 'Stolen Past', Hrair Sarkissian’s powerful installation, lies at the heart of this enquiry. Trained from an early age in his father’s photographic studio in Damascus, the artist is now recognised as one of the leading conceptual photographers of his generation. Deeply rooted in history and memory, his practice finds a particularly poignant resonance here. The monumental installation presents forty-eight lithophanes arranged like funerary stelae, creating an atmosphere of contemplation and remembrance. When illuminated, they reveal images reminiscent of black-and-white photographs depicting artefacts that disappeared from the Raqqa Museum in Syria. Founded in 1981, the institution once housed some 8,000 objects spanning a vast historical period. Between 2013 and 2017, the Islamic State took control of the city and systematically looted its museums and collections. Of these thousands of invaluable pieces, only 880 are known to remain today. By adapting a technique dating back to the mid-nineteenth century, the artist documents these absent remnants through lithophanes produced by means of 3D printing on thin translucent plaques. The project highlights the ways in which absence may be made visible, while more broadly exploring the forms of memory that emerge within communities shaped by violence. In resonance with this work, the immersive images presented in the exhibition stem from ICONEM’s 3D digitisation and reconstruction technologies, revealing the site of Palmyra in Syria, fragile under the effects of time and conflict. Through monumental remains, sculpted details, and silent expanses, visitors are invited to contemplate not only what endures, but also what has been lost. Absence here becomes a visible form, embodied in traces, ruins, and fragments that continue to tell a story. At the intersection of art, memory, and innovation, 'Shape of absence' questions our relationship to lost heritage and the capacity of images to preserve what once seemed irretrievably gone.