Michael Rakowitz: The invisible enemy should not exist (2007 – ongoing)

Overview

Through his exploration of global history and political affairs, Michael Rakowitz creates public projects, installations and happenings. Functioning as an archaeologist and historian, the artist creates imaginative renderings of an alternate future.

The invisible enemy should not exist (2007– - ongoing) is a life-long project that attempts to reconstruct the archaeological artefacts looted from the National Museum of Iraq in the aftermath of the American invasion in April 2003. It unfolds as an intricate narrative based on extensive research about the artefacts stolen from the Museummuseum, the current status of their whereabouts, and the series of events surrounding the invasion, the plundering and related protagonists. Each object is created to the scale of the original using recycled food packaging found in Middle Eastern food stores in the United States, -thus turning detritus into anti-monumental arteifacts.