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Ashraf Hanna: Shararah

In honour of Duke Franz of Bavaria

06.07.2023 - 13.12.2023 ,
Die Neue Sammlung (Design Museum in the Pinacotheca of the Modern)

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partly accessible
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Open today 10:00-18:00
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Barer Straße 40
80333 München

The ceramic artist Ashraf Hanna (* 1967) refers to the "Arab Spring" with his installation originally created for the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Part of this political upheaval was the "Egyptian Revolution" triggered by the protests in Cairo's Tharir Square on 25 January 2011. The 25 red-brown and black vessels stand for the young demonstrators. Their slogans "Bread, Freedom and Social Justice" are reflected in the engraved rhythmic patterns of the ceramics.

Ashraf Hanna was inspired by the carved and polished ceramics from Asyut (Assiut) in the collections of the London Museum. The local pottery tradition of Asyut, a town on the Nile in Middle Egypt, was particularly popular with tourists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 2019, Hanna himself travelled to the town south of his birthplace, visiting potters there to study the material and technique of the characteristic Aysut pottery.
Tradition and identity thus form the starting point for the installation by the ceramic artist, who has lived in the UK since 1986. The real statement, however, lies in the homage to the protest of his compatriots. "Shararah" (Engl. spark) stands for the transformation from a popular, now long-forgotten souvenir to a political statement.

Last edited on 06.11.2024

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Associated museum

Museum / Exhibition Centre: Die Neue Sammlung (Design Museum in the Pinacotheca of the Modern)

Founded around 100 years ago, Die Neue Sammlung is considered the oldest design museum in the world - long before the word design with this meaning even existed in the German-speaking world.The...

Location: München