Barakat Contemporary celebrates Michael Rakowitz’s participation in the 25th Sydney Biennale — REMEMORY, directed by Hoor Al Qasimi, the president of Sharjah Art Foundation.
Concerned with both history and contemporary realities, Rakowitz’s practice explores urgent political issues and cultural questions through public projects, installations, and events with research and collaboration, connecting with individuals across personal, local, and geopolitical contexts.
Since the late 1990s, Rakowitz has developed projects that engage directly with communities and lived experiences. Early works such as paraSITE (begun in 1997) involved inflatable shelters created in consultation with people experiencing homelessness, reflecting his commitment to socially engaged practice. His Iraqi-Jewish heritage also informs much of his work, particularly in the long-term project RETURN (since 2004), which seeks to reintroduce Iraqi dates into the United States as part of a broader reflection on cultural memory, displacement, and exchange.
