The Texture of Memory and the Voice of Resistance: Dala Nasser’s “Cemetery of Martyrs” Exhibition

The art world is focused on one of the most significant cultural events to take place in the United Kingdom next month. Lebanese artist Dala Nasser (b. 1990) is presenting a monumental installation at Nottingham Contemporary with her exhibition “Cemetery of Martyrs,” inviting viewers into deep reflection on mourning, remembrance, and societal sovereignty.

This exhibition marks Nasser’s first major solo show at a major UK art institution. By transforming the silent cries of historical figures into tactile archives, the artist turns the gallery into a symbolic “collective space of mourning.”

Frottage and Cyanotype: In Pursuit of Lost Traces

At the heart of Nasser’s practice lies the frottage technique (placing paper over a rough surface and rubbing it with charcoal or pencil to capture its texture). The artist has collected charcoal rubbings from the gravestones of artists, writers, poets, historians, and journalists who left their mark across Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, and England.

Within this “graveyard canopy”:

• Traces of intellectuals who fought for independence and freedom from the Nahda (Arab Renaissance) period to the present day are preserved.
• For graves that are unreachable or whose locations are unknown, cyanotype technique comes into play. The resulting images become spiritual proxies for figures whose existence is known but whose presence cannot be touched.

Between Sky and Underworld: The Structure of the Installation

The exhibition is built around a massive wooden framework that stretches across two gallery spaces. Black mourning fabrics and gravestone rubbings hang from this structure, creating a canopy of graves beneath which visitors can walk.

The power of the installation goes beyond the visual: a sound installation spread throughout the space deepens the atmosphere with a narrative that bridges the realm of the living and the dead. This multi-sensory experience physically connects the visitor to histories of resistance and renewal.

“This exhibition is not merely a lament; it is an affirmation of the power of culture and humanity to bind us to our histories of resistance.”

Artist: Dala Nasser

Exhibition Title: Cemetery of Martyrs

Dates: 7 February 2026 – 10 May 2026

Private View: Friday, 6 February, 18:30

Venue: Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham, United Kingdom

Curators: Katie Simpson and Klara Szafrańska

Photo by Philipp Hänger.

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