The Sparrow… What Remains

The Sparrow… What Remains is a solo exhibition by the Iraqi sculptor Ahmed Albahrani at Yassin Art Gallery in Zamalek, Cairo, from 12 October to 5 November 2026. The exhibition is built around birds, which Albahrani makes from cast bronze, painted ship timber, silkscreen prints, textiles and LEGO bricks. The opening reception took place on Monday 12 October at 6pm.

The timber comes from ships broken up in India. For Albahrani it still holds salt marks, long sea crossings and the stories of the people who travelled on it. In his words, "That wood was never silent to me. It breathed." On the painted birds, blocks of orange, turquoise, ochre and black meet like the pieces of a quilt. The bare grain appears only where the paint has rubbed away.

The bronze birds are numbered and dated 2026. Most are cast in editions of eight, and they range from 14 cm to 70 cm in height. The gallery also lists a group of carpets from the same year, the largest 160 by 150 cm. Seen together, the different materials put one question to the visitor: what is left of an object after its first use has ended, and what it might become next.

Albahrani graduated in sculpture from the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad in 1988. He left Iraq in 1994 and has divided his time between Doha and Stockholm since 1999. His public commissions include the ROTA Cube, made for Hamad International Airport in Doha, and the trophy for the 2015 Handball World Championship in Qatar. The gallery is open daily from 11am to 8pm, except Friday.