Limbs of the Lunar Disc

Worldbuilding with striking large-scale paintings and an immersive digital installation, Sarah Al Sarraj's immerses audiences in deep time, ancestry, and the persisting impact of imperial histories.

Predicated on the belief that our world was built in service of imperial violence, the show introduces new ontological systems rooted in land, spirit, and ancestry. Through large-scale paintings and immersive technologies, the exhibition’s narrative journeys explore environmental violence on a deep time scale, paying attention to the spiritual salience of the natural world.

The exhibition features Separated by Millennia (2024), a series of oil paintings on wooden panels, which imagines a temporally nomadic tribe using Arabian astronavigation and geolocation tools to manipulate time. These ideas expand in Al-Sarraj’s new immersive work, guiding audiences through time—from the distant future to the ancient past—following An Ancestor Simulation that investigates the long-term effects of imperial violence and liberation movements.

Engaging with Laura Nasrallah’s concept of the ancestral assemblage, the exhibition asks: How can we honour those who came before us while ensuring justice for those yet to come?