East and West

The project connects two extraordinary monumental works of Sicilian Arab-Norman art, UNESCO World Heritage sites the Monreale Cathedral monumental complex and the Zisa. 

The exhibition curated by Lina Bellanca and Alessandro Carlino brings together stories and symbols carved onto the capitals of the Benedictine Cloister and the Duomo’s chapels, along with site-specific installations by Iranian artist Navid Azimi Sajadi and photographs from the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz-Max-Planck-Institut archive.

 Inspired by the iconography of the monumental complex, works by the Artist are being exhibited in the Monreale Cloister, the halls of the Diocesan Museum and the San Benedetto Chapel in the Duomo, sparking a modern-day dialogue between Middle Eastern art and the Western Mediterranean. Not only is this a journey between East and West, it is a journey between past and present, thanks to an exhibition layout developed by the designer Francesco Ferla.

The exhibition continues as Artist Residence at Zisa. Curated by Ashkan Zahraei and Giuseppe Moscatello, works by Sajadi are being created in situ through establishing a metaphorical environment in which it is possible to reconnect a wide range of meanings through time and space. The result will be a visual glimpse of the crossroads of history and mythology, and an attempt to reflect on the cultures of East and West.