The Sunderland Collection

The inaugural exhibition of The Sunderland Collection Art Programme will take place soon!

Fathi Hassan: Shifting Sands which will open at Frieze’s no. 9 Cork Street on 31 May 2024.

Having spent the last year considering and immersing himself in the Collection, Fathi Hassan’s response to the antique maps and atlases will present new and historical work in which the artist explores his relationship to cartography, culture and intellectual heritage.

Born in Cairo in 1957 to Egyptian and Nubian parents, Fathi Hassan gained prominence in the 1980s. In 1988, he became one of the first artists of African heritage to be included in the Venice Art Biennale. Having moved from Egypt in his early twenties to study at Naples Academy of Fine Arts, Hassan spent decades living and working in Italy.

Graduating in 1984, Fathi became an important member of the thriving, avant-garde art scene. The Wild Neapolitans whom Hassan exhibited alongside, flourished in opposition to the failing politics, corruption and decay that the city experienced at the time. 1980’s Naples built on the spirit of Arte Povera and those associated with the movement, which took a radical stance against the establishment, attacking the values of institutions, government, industry and culture. Like Hassan Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Cy Twombly and Joseph Beuys, were all attracted to the revolutionary feel of the city.

In his most recent work, Fathi continues to expand upon and explore the space between meaning, memory and symbolism which he developed during those seminal, Neapolitan years. His own multicultural history and diasporic identity find a home in response to the cartographic treasures of The Sunderland Collection.

Fathi Hassan: Shifting Sands
Frieze’s No.9 Cork Street
31 May – 15 June 2024

Layered history -- ancient objects have often undergone periodic repair, overprinting, or reuse. Here in Plovdiv, we found examples of beautiful mosaic layering in the Great Basilica, which dates back to the 4th century.
The site itself has reused over time as a temple, church, graveyard, and residential area before being eventually uncovered and excavated very recently.
It also features famous mosaics of birds I ckuding peacocks, a Christian symbol of immortality

Never judge a book by its cover...