Meet artist MH Sarkis VOTIVΞ FOR THE NΞXT ΞΛRTH and other projects - Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery

Artist MH Sarkis will be discussing her RAMM commission,VOTIVΞ FOR THE NΞXT ΞΛRTH and other projects in this afternoon talk, as part of Art Week Exeter. Taking inspiration from textiles in RAMM’s collections MH Sarkis has created a new interactive, woven hanging currently on display in the museum.

This RAMM commission speculates on a future scenario where our climate and ecological emergencies encourage a search for a new habitable planet. Votive for the Next Earth is also an offering given in exchange for the new planet to its god. Sarkis says, ‘In this way, the scientific progress we make in the future functions in tandem with the human desire for ritual and belief in a higher being, especially in moments of strife and grief’.

MH Sarkis is a Lebanese artist based in London. She grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, where she lived for seventeen years. She is inspired by science fiction narratives, particularly near-future scenarios with specific warnings for us. Her artwork often involves interactive elements for the viewer so that a touch, gaze, or movement triggers a response within the artwork.

Sarkis completed the Goldsmiths MFA Fine Art programme at the University of London and her work has featured in a number of Shape Arts exhibitions, on the Saatchi Art Platform and in the Arab Women Artists Now Festival. Recent exhibitions include 2068 at SPACE in Hackney; The Other Art Fair, Saatchi Art; and London Grads Now at the Saatchi Gallery. Sarkis was shortlisted for the 2022 Lumen Prize and was a winner of Arebyte’s Open Screen 2022 and the Almacantar Award 2021-2022. She is a current recipient of Arts Council England’s Developing Your Creative Practice award.