Salt-Kissed: Of Vessels That Have Sailed The Red Sea

‘Salt-Kissed’ is a collection of untold narratives anchored by the stories of eight ships that once sailed the Red Sea bearing witness to the idiosyncrasies within its swarming body. These stories narrate the Red Sea’s reciprocal relationship with its environment. Through a blend of archival materials and contemporary works, the exhibition traces ancient and contemporary trade routes, the lives of coastal communities, traditional crafts, modern influence and colonial legacies and their relationship to ecology. Using ships as vessels, Salt-Kissed ventures into themes that have shaped the Red Sea’s present, and its role in transforming both local and global histories. This exploration positions the Red Sea as an animate body in perpetual dialogue with these vessels, with the power to reject, preserve, and transform the objects that traverse it. Diverse in their endeavours, each of these journeys reveals a particular unique portrait of the Red Sea, contributing to the overarching story we seek to unveil in this exhibition; that the Red Sea is not merely a body of water but a vessel in its own right—a vessel brimming with vibrant hues, evocative scents, and echoing sounds.

Curated by Ahmed Al-Aqra and Abed Alrahman Shabaneh