Canvas

A longtime victim of human persecution, the Barbary lion has been extinct since at least the 1950s. Once the largest predatory mammal roaming North Africa, this distinct subspecies of African lion was native to the forests and mountains of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. Traditionally regarded as a symbol of strength, freedom and bravery, it was both an enduring icon and an object of ‘entertainment’, captured by the Romans for use in gladiatorial combat and other grotesque spectacles and, later, systematically targeted and hunted by so-called sportsmen during the colonial era.

The historical mistreatment and exploitation of these majestic cats are being explored in a conceptual and research-led exhibition entitled Are your memories of me enough for you? by the emerging Libyan artist Alla Abdunabi at the Abu Dhabi arts space, 421. Abdunabi’s first solo show features a selection of sculptures and hanging works that were produced as part of the space’s annual 421 Artistic Development Program, pushing young artists “to explore new techniques, test ideas, and create a cohesive body of work for their first solo exhibition”.

Abdunabi tackles the contentious theme of colonialism through the plight of the Barbary lion and its place in contemporary public spheres, particularly Western museums. Some institutions have taxidermy specimens, while others (such as the Tower of London) have displayed lion skulls for the public to see. In a world where ethical and moral concerns over the presentation of human remains, such as ancient Egyptian mummies, are increasingly aired, Abdunabi seemingly broadens the debate to include any object gathered during the colonial era. “The exhibition questions the ethics of restoring and displaying colonial artifacts and symbols, probing what it means to “care” for such objects, formed by the touch of empire, burdened by its legacy,” reads an exhibition wall text.

The main artworks in the exhibition are lying on the ground in a quiet setting: two of Abdunabi’s white lion sculptures are resting on beds of salt. Being brought back to life, they could be resting peacefully or awaiting their dismal fate. It looks as if Abdunabi has washed them of their aggressive and exotic nature (as portrayed in the Orientalist paintings of the French Romantic artist Eugène Delacroix) and re-presented them purely as vulnerable subjects. According to information provided in the exhibition, during the era of colonised Algeria the lions were subjected to continuous hunting by the French, an onslaught that was “seen as both a right and a means of asserting power. In this rendering, the Barbary lions are caught in the moment between their fame and extinction. As they fall away from the enforced rule of imperial guardians, they reclaim life in stillness. No longer hunted or celebrated, their raw, unfinished bodies assert their right to be, to let be.”