At the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Sara Shamma presents The Tower Tomb of Palmyra, a powerful new installation for the National Pavilion of Syria. Curated by Yuko Hasegawa, the exhibition marks a significant shift for the pavilion, foregrounding a single artist in a deeply personal and expansive presentation. Drawing on the ancient city of Palmyra—once a vital crossroads of cultures and now a symbol of profound loss—Shamma brings together painting, architecture, light, sound, and scent to create an immersive environment that reflects on memory, displacement, and resilience.
Known for her emotionally charged figurative works, the artist extends her practice into space itself, inviting viewers into a shared experience that moves beyond observation. Here, Shamma reflects on the inspiration behind the project, her recent return to Damascus, and the role of art in preserving cultural memory.
Sara Shamma Reimagines a Site of Loss and Exchange
Tower of Elahbel, Palmyra, courtesy of the artist.
WHITEWALL: The Tower Tomb of Palmyra centers on a site layered with history and loss—what first drew you to Palmyra as the focus of this presentation?
SARA SHAMMA: Palmyra has always felt to me like more than a historical site. It was a place where cultures, languages and beliefs met and coexisted, and that spirit of openness and exchange feels deeply relevant today.
What drew me to it for this project was the tension between that extraordinary legacy and its recent destruction. When the towers were lost, it was not only architecture that disappeared, but a whole relationship to memory and continuity.
Inside these tombs, the funerary reliefs, among the earliest expressions of Syrian portraiture, carry a powerful sense of presence. Their gaze seems to endure across time, and that encounter stayed with me and became central to the work.
“I wanted to create a space that the viewer does not simply look at, but enters.”
-Sara Shamma.
WW: Your work often explores the human condition through powerful figurative painting—how does that translate into this more immersive, multi-sensory installation?
SS: My work has always centered on the human figure as a way of exploring inner states—life, death, memory, and transformation. With this project, that focus remains, but it expands beyond the surface of the canvas into a spatial experience.
I wanted to create a space that the viewer does not simply look at, but enters. The paintings are no longer isolated images; they surround the viewer, and through light, sound, and scent, they become part of a shared environment.
In this way, the human presence in the paintings extends into the space itself. The experience becomes more immediate and physical, allowing the viewer to feel part of the work rather than outside it.
What Remains After Destruction
Sara Shamma, “Untitled,” 2025, oil on canvas, 100×100 cm, courtesy of the artist.
WW: This project also touches on the restitution of looted antiquities—how do you see art contributing to that conversation today?
SS: The loss of Palmyra was not only the destruction of monuments, but also the displacement of cultural memory. When objects are removed from their context, they lose part of their meaning, because they are no longer connected to the place, the history, and the people that gave them life.
I don’t see this work as making a direct statement, but rather as creating awareness through experience. By reimagining the spirit of the tower tomb, the installation invites reflection on what has been lost and what remains.
Art cannot replace what has disappeared, but it can keep memory alive and remind us of the importance of protecting cultural heritage, and of thinking more carefully about where these objects belong.
WW: You returned to Damascus recently after many years abroad—how has being back shaped your thinking and approach to this pavilion?
SS: Returning to Damascus has been a very important moment for me. It reconnects me directly with the place and the cultural depth that have always shaped my work, but also with a country that is going through a complex and uncertain transition.
I hope that this new phase for Syria will open more space for culture, for artists, and for dialogue with the world. It is important that culture plays a role in rebuilding connections and creating understanding.
With this project, I also want to contribute to that process—to help re-engage Syria with the international cultural scene through art, and to show that there is still a strong creative voice that seeks openness, exchange, and connection.
“It is also about continuity and the persistence of human presence.”
-Sara Shamma.
WW: The exhibition speaks to both loss and resilience—what do you hope visitors carry with them after experiencing the work?
SS: I hope that visitors leave with a sense of connection rather than distance. The work speaks about loss, but it is not only about mourning what has disappeared, it is also about continuity and the persistence of human presence.
When you enter the space, you are surrounded by figures that seem to exist between time, and in that moment, the experience becomes shared. It is no longer about a specific place or history, but about something more universal.
If the work allows even a brief moment of reflection, on memory, on fragility, and on what connects us as human beings, then it has fulfilled its purpose.
Don’t Miss: The immersive tower tomb installation combining painting, light, sound, and scent
Why It Matters: A powerful reflection on cultural loss, restitution, and Syria’s re-emergence on the global stage
Dates: May 9 – November 22, 2026
Venue: National Pavilion of Syria, IUAV di Venezia, Cotonificio, Dorsoduro
Curator: Yuko Hasegawa
Sara Shamma, “Untitled,” 2024, oil on canvas, 60×70 cm.
Sara Shamma, “Untitled,” 2022, oil on canvas, 125×150 cm.
