Materials: Steel frame, laser-cut plywood panels, isomalt sugar, shellac, food coloring, epoxy
Year: 2025
In Atrahasis 3.0, I return to one of humanity’s oldest stories: the Epic of Atrahasis – a Babylonian flood myth that predates Noah’s Ark by thousands of years. Even then, it carried familiar themes: flooding, divine anger, chosen survivors, and the possibility of starting over. But in this version, it’s not just water that threatens us – it’s fear, chaos, and a society on the verge of collapse.
By revisiting this ancient myth, I want to reflect on our current moment. The flood we face today isn’t sent by gods, but by ourselves: climate breakdown, ecological collapse, and failing systems. The ark – once a sacred symbol of rescue – has become a cargo ship.
It no longer carries life, but profit.
This work asks: if catastrophe struck now, what would we choose to save?
Which values, memories, or stories would we carry forward – and what would we leave behind?
The piece is partially composed of isomalt, a sugar-based material that breaks down over time—melting, crystallizing, and disappearing. This transformation mirrors human fragility and our self-destructive patterns. Sugar also evokes histories of colonialism and exploitation, tying consumption to injustice.
Atrahasis 3.0 is my response to the grief and responsibility of our time.
It’s a monument to loss and to choice, but also a call to rethink.
If the flood has already begun, then what is our role as ark-builders – and who are we building for?
https://www.stockholmkonst.se/konst/sommarutstallning-2025-nada-ali
Nada Ali 