Sailors was part of Ali Cherri’s exhibition Return of the Beast, which “compels us to rethink what we’ve historically considered as the figure of the monster, by inviting us to reevaluate the gaze that defines this conception. How do we look at monsters? How do they look back? What brings about the monstrous? The exhibition engages with the trope of the monstrous in a continuation of Cherri’s research on hybridity, which has been central to his practice for the better part of the last decade.” (Lina Ajan)

Cherri’s work is inspired by artifacts and the natural world. His sculptures, drawings and installations explore the temporal shifts between ancient worlds and contemporary societies. Using archeological artifacts as a starting point, he investigates the boundaries of ideologies that underpin the foundations of nations and the myth of national progression. His work explores the links between archaeology, historical narrative and heritage, considering the processes of excavation and relocation of cultural objects into museums.

His recent solo exhibitions include: If you prick us, do we not bleed? (National Gallery, London, 2022); Return of The Beast (Imane Farès, Paris, 2021); From Fragment to Whole (Jönköping County Museum, 2018); Programme Satellite 10: Somniculus (CAPC Centre d’art contemporain de Bordeaux and Jeu de Paume, 2017); and A Taxonomy of Fallacies: The Life of Dead Objects (Sursock Museum, 2016). His work has recently been exhibited at the Institut Valencià d’Art Modern; Jameel Arts Center, Dubai; Para Site, Hong Kong; MAXXI, Rome; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Manifesta 13, Marseille, 2020; the 5th Ural Industrial Biennial of Contemporary Art, Ekaterinburg, 2019; the 8th Melle International Biennial of Contemporary Art, 2018; and the 13th Sharjah Biennial, 2017.

He is the recipient of a Harvard University’s Robert E. Fulton Fellowship (2016) and a Rockefeller Foundation Award (2017), and was shortlisted for The Abraaj Group Art Prize (2018). In 2021, he was artist-in-residence at the National Gallery, London and in 2022 he participated in the International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, The Milk of Dreams, for which he received the Silver Lion for a Promising Young Participant. His works are featured collections including: Art Jameel, Dubai; Musée national d’art moderne/Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; National Gallery, London; British Museum, London; MACBA, Barcelona; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; and Sursock Museum, Beirut.