Sharjah’s new cultural edifice and iconic hub for new age learning, House of Wisdom (HoW), has marked its presence at the ongoing fifth annual Xposure International Photography Festival, being held at Expo Centre Sharjah, with a pavilion that offers glimpses of its activities such as the ongoing exhibitions, ‘168:01’ and ‘The Ashes Series (2003 – 2013)’ by American-Iraqi artist and academic, Wafaa Bilal.

‘168:01’, which ishoused at the House of Wisdom, is a historically resonant exhibition that references a heart-breaking incident in the 13th-century when an invading Mongol army set fire to the Bait AlHikma (House of Wisdom) and threw the books into the Tigris River. Legend has it that ink from the books flowed in the river for 168 hours, the basis for the exhibition’s title.

History repeated in 2003 when the College of Fine Arts at the University of Baghdad lost its entire library – around 70,000 books – during the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. The library still remains a ghost of its past. Bilal’s exhibition aims to be a movement for the rebirth of the library,

Looking to restock the lost libraries of Iraqi universities and institutions, ‘168:01’ invites visitors to buy an art book from the collection offered by House of Wisdom based on requests from Iraqi students. These donated books will replace the blank white books kept on the shelves as a part of the exhibition.

‘The Ashes Series (2003 – 2103)’ is an exhibition of photographs that depict painstakingly reconstructed media images of the destruction caused by the Iraq War. The haunting images of the shattered landscapes overpowers viewers with a searing sense of loss.

The House of Wisdom organised book signing events for participating photographers at its pavilion at Xposure 2021.The pavilion also displays a selection of images of HoW posted by the library’s visitors on social media platforms.