Anna Boghiguian – The Sunken Boat

The Sunken Boat marks Anna Boghiguian’s (b. 1946) first solo exhibition in the Nordic region. The exhibition explores global maritime history, rising sea levels, and the climate crisis through immersive installations.

One of the exhibition's central works, The Chess Game (2022), is a monumental 8 x 8 metre installation that brings together a cast of influential historical figures — including Marie Antoinette, Franz Ferdinand, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Sigmund Freud, and Rudolf Steiner — alongside other pivotal voices from the realms of politics, science, and philosophy.

Through 24 life-sized, hand-painted figures crafted from cardboard, wood, and acrylic panels, Boghiguian stages a symbolic chess match in which these characters confront one another in a dynamic struggle for power and influence.

The work The Sunken Boat: A Glimpse into Past Histories (2025) confronts the urgent realities of the climate and environmental crisis, as well as the issue of rising sea levels. At its centre is a floating papier-mâché sculpture of a diver, slightly larger than life, positioned above a vast mound of sand, evoking the seabed as both a literal and symbolic space. Surrounding the diver are vibrant glass shells, sculptures of underwater swimmers and an array of painted paper cut-outs depicting fish, all contributing to a rich and immersive underwater tableau.

The installation is accompanied by a soundscape composed of sea recordings captured in the cities of Alexandria, Egypt; Margate, England; and Aarhus, Denmark. As a final layer to the installation, Boghiguian has painted a mural directly onto the gallery wall at ARoS, forming a backdrop that anchors the work in place and time.

The Sunken Boat invites you into a vivid and contemplative universe where historical narratives, personal memories, and the contemporary crises converge. In Boghiguian’s hands, the sea becomes more than a motif — it emerges as a living force, a deep current that connects our collective past to the decisions that shape our future.

Anna Boghiguian – The Sunken Boat is curated by Louise Bjeldbak Henriksen. The exhibition has been created in collaboration with Turner Contemporary.

Augustinus Foundation

Aarhus Stiftstidendes Foundation

Aage and Ulla Filtenborg Foundation of 8 November

The Danish Arts Foundation

Front photo credit: Anna Boghiguian – The Sunken Boat, ARoS 2025. Installation view: Mads Smidstrup © ARoS 2025