Fragile Lands
Wall mural and Installation 2023.
Imperial Debris shifts the critical gaze from ruins as evidence of the past to "ruination" as a process through which imperial power occupies the present. This so-called “English crockery” is explored by Mai Al Shazly in her artistic practice. It is a powerful testimony to how everyday objects reflect traumatic history and cultural monopolies.
In this project, she has created a facsimile of a bomb encased in shards of the famous Chinese-inspired Willow Pattern porcelain. These fragments are also used to replace the wheels of a heavy battle tank.
With these new works, she engages with the colonial debris of fragile, conflict-affected areas of the world.
Featured in SHATTER&SHAPE Porcelain Matters' exhibition at Philomena+ art & architecture, Vienna, Austria, 2023, curated by Christine Bruckbauer