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Iraqi Artist's Installation Critiques Looting of Cultural Artifacts

2/13/2026

Summary

Story summary

Michael Rakowitz, Iraqi-American artist, presents Proxies for Poets and Palaces at Stavanger Art Museum through March 15, 2026.
The installation features eight wall reliefs made from cardboard, Arabic newspapers, and food packaging, forming a fragile room within a room.
The works reference the looting of Baghdad’s Iraq Museum in 2003 and are part of the ongoing project The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist, critiquing the treatment of cultural artifacts.

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Story summary

Michael Rakowitz, Iraqi-American artist, presents Proxies for Poets and Palaces at Stavanger Art Museum through March 15, 2026.
The installation features eight wall reliefs made from cardboard, Arabic newspapers, and food packaging, forming a fragile room within a room.
The works reference the looting of Baghdad’s Iraq Museum in 2003 and are part of the ongoing project The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist, critiquing the treatment of cultural artifacts.