To coincide with his current exhibition at Thomas Dane Gallery in Naples, Akram Zaatari will present his project Father and Son at the University of Naples L’Orientale.

Rooted in Zaatari's research practice, Father and Son takes as its starting point the reconstruction of two archaeological excavations conducted in Sidon, Lebanon in 1855 and 1887, where the sarcophagi of two Phoenician kings—King Eshmunazar II and King Tabnit—came to light, preserved to this day at the Louvre in Paris and the Archaeological Museum in Istanbul respectively.

The opposite routes undertaken by the sarcophagi, as well as the role of the Ottoman painter and archaeologist Osman Hamdi Bey in their excavations, become the lens through which Zaatari looks at the complexity deriving from the exchanges and trafficking that took place in the Mediterranean basin, and the incipit to build new narratives and alternative forms of restitution of cultural heritage.

This event is free and open to the public. The talk will also be available to watch live online, click here to join.

Father and Son - Talk by Akram Zaatari

Tuesday 21 May 2024, 11am–1pm

University of Naples L’Orientale
Palazzo Corigliano (Conference Room, 2nd floor)
Piazza San Domenico Maggiore
80134 Napoli
Italy