Emii Alrai is an artist, writer and former museum registrar who lives and works between Leeds and London. Working primarily in sculpture and installation, Alrai’s practice explores Middle Eastern mythologies, archaeology and Western museum structures.
Alrai uses a range of materials to create ruins and artefacts reminiscent of ancient civilisations. The weatherworn texture of eroded pillars and archways that she creates resemble stonework and structures uncovered at archaeological sites such as Pompeii in Italy or Jerash in Jordan. These large-scale ruins are fabrications, built in her studio, assembled in the gallery and furnished with earthenware pots, metal arrows, hand blown glass vessels – false artefacts made by the artist.
Through this work, Alrai engages critically with a Western tradition of museum display that prioritises the object. She invites us to think about collections, the origins of excavated artefacts and their close alignment with the reach of colonial empires.
Emii Alrai (b.1993, Blackpool) is the first artist presenting work in a new series of solo exhibitions in Towner’s ground floor gallery. This exciting programme of free exhibitions highlights exceptional contemporary artists working locally, nationally and internationally.