New film by Wael Shawky premieres at Pompeii Archaeological park

12 May 2023

Wael Shawky's latest film, titled I Am Hymns of the New Temples, premiered on the 12 May at the Archaeological Park of Pompeii. The film is the first work produced as part of the Pompeii Commitment project 'Archaeological Matters', a platform dedicated to the formation of the contemporary art collection of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, and was the winner of the PAC - Plan for Contemporary Art 2020 call.

I Am Hymns of the New Temples centers around an investigation into Greek mythology, specifically, the dissemination of myths and their persistence across sources, time and cultures. Founded on extensive archival research, Shawky presents the plurality of history and myth and the way they merge and become indistinguishable from one another using ornate masks, live animals and re-imagined classical tales. In the work, Pompeii’s archaeological remains - themselves testament to the interweaving and complex configuration of Mediterranean cultures - become an embodiment of the multiplicity of narrative which Shawky is interested in.