Porous Passage (2023)
Soap sculptures submerged in water, displayed in tanks
Fragments of the displaced Leptis Magna ruins are reproduced as carved soap sculptures, submerged in water, enabling their deterioration over the course of their display. In the 19th century, British officer Hanmer Warrington looted over 100 columns, which were later used by the King’s architect, Jeffrey Wyatville, to construct the Temple of Augustus—a folly mimicking a ruined Roman temple. Today, the ruins remain on the royal estate of Windsor Castle in Surrey, U.K.
Commissioned by Jameel Arts Centre as part of the Youth Assembly.
As installed in Bayt Al Mamzar (2024). Image courtsey of Saif Al Mhaisen
