Barakat Contemporary proudly presents Iraqi-American artist Michael Rakowitz’s first solo exhibition in Korea: The invisible enemy should not exist (Northwest Palace of Kalhu, Room F, Southeast Entrance; Room S, Southwest Entrance) from May 10 to July 30, 2023.  

The exhibition presents key works that Michael Rakowitz has been dedicated to for more than 20 years since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. Rakowitz has been continuously reappearing and returning the lost cultural heritage of Iraq in both autobiographical and historical registers: Rakowitz’s own family history of exile due to their Iraqi Jewish background, and Mesopotamian relics that were destroyed or have gone missing in the aftermath of the War. From humble food packaging to ancient Assyrian stone reliefs, Rakowitz listens to the stories of all the objects that have disappeared along with the humans displaced by force and puts forth practical methods of healing from the trauma rendered invisible.  

The invisible enemy should not exist (Northwest Palace of Kalhu, Room F, Southeast Entrance; Room S, Southwest Entrance) is the title of the exhibition as well as the premiering installation that stretches across the first floor. “The invisible enemy should not exist” is the translation of Aj-ibur-shapu, the name of the Processional Way into the city of Babylon past the Ishtar Gate, built circa BCE 575 under King Nebuchadnezzar II.