LIVING HISTORIES
Living Histories is a monumental immersive installation premiering at the 25th Biennale of Sydney (RE:MEMORY, March 14 – June 14, 2026), curated by Hoor Al-Qasimi and sited within the turbine hall of the historic White Bay Power Station.
Drawing from the 1930s Federal Writers Project "Born into Slavery," an oral history archive of over 2,500 first-hand accounts from formerly enslaved African American elders, the work reanimates these voices through a towering Baobab-inspired textile tree woven from cotton and gauze, a partially deconstructed cabin structure that fragments upward into the industrial architecture of the hall. Visitors move through layered environments of soundscape, archival projection, hand-printed cyanotypes, live performance, and embedded elders' voices, encountering history not as fixed record but as living, breathing field of memory.
“This work enlivens history in a monumental way. It is sculpture. It is the living sound of a hundred elders’ voices. It is monumental textile work. It is original music and voice. It is live performance, and interactive sets, it is a Living History. ”
ABOUT THE BIENNALE OF SYDNEY
Since 1973, the Biennale of Sydney has established itself as one of the world's most significant contemporary art events, presenting groundbreaking work by over 2,400 artists from more than 130 countries.
Curated by Hoor Al Qasimi, President and Director of the Sharjah Art Foundation, the 25th Biennale continues to serve as a vital platform for innovative artistic expression and cultural dialogue.
