Latest news with #FlatEarth
AU Financial Review
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- AU Financial Review
Monash Uni backflips on Sabsabi show as Muslim campuses protest
Monash University's Museum Of Art will proceed with a show featuring controversial artist Khaled Sabsabi that it had postponed, with advocacy from students at its Indonesian and Malaysian campuses a factor in the decision. The Melbourne institution in March postponed Flat Earth, a show curated by Sydney-based publishing collective Stolon Press and including works by Sabsabi, the Sydney-based Muslim artist whose contract to represent Australia at 2026's Venice Biennale was rescinded by federal arts body Creative Australia, after the uncovering of early works depicting terrorism.
Sydney Morning Herald
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘A clear sign that truth still matters': Sacked artist welcomes university decision
'This is a deeply personal moment for me,' he said. 'I'm relieved that common sense has prevailed and we can move forward with the Flat Earth curatorial vision and exhibition at MUMA. It's a clear sign that truth still matters. 'This is also about more than one artist or one show, it's about how we as an industry respond to challenges, stand by each other, and uphold the integrity of artistic expression.' Sabsabi added: 'This outcome was not achieved in isolation; it was the result of a shared determination to protect freedom of expression and support artists at a time when it matters most.' He also refuted the insinuations that arose from Creative Australia's decision to sack him. 'Let me be absolutely clear: I reject all forms of racism and hate. My practice is built on existence/coexistence, respect, and the urgent need to connect across cultural and political divides,' he said. 'This [MUMA] decision affirms that my work is understood in that spirit.' Loading He thanked and acknowledged the commitment of Stolon Press, the participating artists in Flat Earth, and the team at MUMA. 'This moment is a reminder that our institutions are stronger when they hold space with artists and curators for complexity and conversations,' Sabsabi said. 'This is now an opportunity for Creative Australia to revisit its decision regarding Venice 2026. Michael and I remain committed to representing Australia on the world stage with integrity and purpose.' The findings of an independent review into the Venice selection process are to be released next month. Flat Earth is the inaugural exhibition by Sydney-based publisher Stolon Press, created with MUMA's Dr Rebecca Coates and Stephanie Berlangieri. It is part of MUMA's 50th anniversary celebrations and will run until July 12. Stolon Press was created by writer Tom Melick and artist Simryn Gill in 2019. The Venice decision was prompted by two of the artist's works, one featuring footage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and another featuring the former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated last year. 'Creative Australia is an advocate for freedom of artistic expression and is not an adjudicator on the interpretation of art,' the board wrote in a statement. 'However, the board believes a prolonged and divisive debate about the 2026 selection outcome poses an unacceptable risk to public support for Australia's artistic community...' That flew in the face of what the Sabsabi had proposed for Venice, he said, as well as his overarching philosophy. 'The [proposed Biennale] work is about bringing all people of faith, ethnicity, gender together to reflect and contemplate these troubled times we live in,' Sabsabi said. He and D'Agostino have mounted a crowdfunding campaign to help them get to Venice, but hope this latest move by Monash University indicates that change is possible and there is room for Creative Australia to reconsider its decision. Speaking to this masthead last month, Sabsabi said the cancellation had been a fundamental misunderstanding that two of his historical works celebrated terrorism, which he called a 'ridiculous' accusation when both critiqued war and media representations of ideology. 'Anyone who knows me or my work understands what I stand for,' he said when asked if he had ever promoted terrorism through his work. 'I do not stand for terrorism, racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, or any form of hate. 'I believe every race, ethnicity, faith, gender has the right to exist and co-exist. I'm an artist, not a politician, and my work for over 35 years is about finding ways to converse through complexity. That accusation is ridiculous.'
The Age
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
‘A clear sign that truth still matters': Sacked artist welcomes university decision
'This is a deeply personal moment for me,' he said. 'I'm relieved that common sense has prevailed and we can move forward with the Flat Earth curatorial vision and exhibition at MUMA. It's a clear sign that truth still matters. 'This is also about more than one artist or one show, it's about how we as an industry respond to challenges, stand by each other, and uphold the integrity of artistic expression.' Sabsabi added: 'This outcome was not achieved in isolation; it was the result of a shared determination to protect freedom of expression and support artists at a time when it matters most.' He also refuted the insinuations that arose from Creative Australia's decision to sack him. 'Let me be absolutely clear: I reject all forms of racism and hate. My practice is built on existence/coexistence, respect, and the urgent need to connect across cultural and political divides,' he said. 'This [MUMA] decision affirms that my work is understood in that spirit.' Loading He thanked and acknowledged the commitment of Stolon Press, the participating artists in Flat Earth, and the team at MUMA. 'This moment is a reminder that our institutions are stronger when they hold space with artists and curators for complexity and conversations,' Sabsabi said. 'This is now an opportunity for Creative Australia to revisit its decision regarding Venice 2026. Michael and I remain committed to representing Australia on the world stage with integrity and purpose.' The findings of an independent review into the Venice selection process are to be released next month. Flat Earth is the inaugural exhibition by Sydney-based publisher Stolon Press, created with MUMA's Dr Rebecca Coates and Stephanie Berlangieri. It is part of MUMA's 50th anniversary celebrations and will run until July 12. Stolon Press was created by writer Tom Melick and artist Simryn Gill in 2019. The Venice decision was prompted by two of the artist's works, one featuring footage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and another featuring the former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated last year. 'Creative Australia is an advocate for freedom of artistic expression and is not an adjudicator on the interpretation of art,' the board wrote in a statement. 'However, the board believes a prolonged and divisive debate about the 2026 selection outcome poses an unacceptable risk to public support for Australia's artistic community...' That flew in the face of what the Sabsabi had proposed for Venice, he said, as well as his overarching philosophy. 'The [proposed Biennale] work is about bringing all people of faith, ethnicity, gender together to reflect and contemplate these troubled times we live in,' Sabsabi said. He and D'Agostino have mounted a crowdfunding campaign to help them get to Venice, but hope this latest move by Monash University indicates that change is possible and there is room for Creative Australia to reconsider its decision. Speaking to this masthead last month, Sabsabi said the cancellation had been a fundamental misunderstanding that two of his historical works celebrated terrorism, which he called a 'ridiculous' accusation when both critiqued war and media representations of ideology. 'Anyone who knows me or my work understands what I stand for,' he said when asked if he had ever promoted terrorism through his work. 'I do not stand for terrorism, racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, or any form of hate. 'I believe every race, ethnicity, faith, gender has the right to exist and co-exist. I'm an artist, not a politician, and my work for over 35 years is about finding ways to converse through complexity. That accusation is ridiculous.'
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Wiz Khalifa shares bizarre theory on why he thinks planet Earth is a 'flat plane'
Wiz Khalifa has been talking about his theory on the shape of the Earth, as he reckons we're living on a 'flat plane' despite all evidence to the contrary. About 2,500 years ago, Pythagoras put down his triangles for a bit and said he thought the Earth was round, and a couple of hundred years after that, Aristotle realised that the circular shadow cast by our planet during an eclipse must mean the planet was round. For avoidance of doubt, our planet is very much a sphere, not a perfect sphere, but a sphere nonetheless. However, Wiz Khalifa reckons he knows better than all that as he was recently asked if he thought the Earth was round and he said 'no.' The rapper was speaking on The Joe Budden Podcast when he outlined his theory, saying: "I just believe that we live on a flat plane, like a huge flat plane." As for how he knows this, Khalifa said that he's 'travelled so much' and in that time he found it was 'not possible to go up and down.' "I think that there's more masses than just what we see because it was one thing before and it spread out," the rapper said. "Because when I travel, the routes that we take and how we do it, it's not possible to go up and down. You're just going straight. That's the only reason I think that. "I don't believe in space exploration at all, I don't believe that they explore space as much as they say that they do." Flat Earthers ideas don't tend to survive contact with reality, as one of the notorious conspiracy theorists decided to travel to the North Pole to prove the world was flat. Instead he ended up providing the world was round, and actually admitted that he'd got it wrong. Flat Earthers don't have much respect in the scientific community either. Should Wiz Khalifa ever run into Professor Brian Cox, he can expect to be biffed on the head by the beloved scientist with a copy of Sir Isaac Newton's 1687 book Principia. NASA scientist Dr James Garvin was once asked how we know the Earth isn't flat, and he pointed out that explorers circumnavigating the globe would have fallen off the edge of the planet if it was flat. Instead they were able to sail around the world, and every day planes and ships make that same journey, which must mean they're either all in on this grand conspiracy or the theory is bogus. Astronauts in space have even tried to disprove the Flat Earth theory by showing us what our planet looks like from above.
The Guardian
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Khaled Sabsabi show cancelled one month after sacking from Venice Biennale
An upcoming exhibition featuring works by artist Khaled Sabsabi, who was controversially dumped as Australia's representative at the Venice Biennale last month, has been 'indefinitely postponed' by Monash University. Sabsabi, a Lebanese-born artist based in western Sydney, made headlines in February when he and curator Michael Dagostino were announced as Australia's representatives at the 2026 Venice Biennale. But just six days later, they were both dropped by Australia's federal arts body Creative Australia, after days of media and political pressure over Sabsabi's use of imagery from the 9/11 terrorist attacks and former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated last year, in old works. The upcoming exhibition, titled Stolon Press: Flat Earth, had been planned for 18 months and was due to open on 8 May at Monash University Museum of Art (Muma), in the Melbourne suburb of Caulfield East. Guardian Australia understands the decision to call off the show was made by Monash University, not the staff at Muma. Sabsabi's gallerist, Josh Milani, said the decision was a worrying sign that Creative Australia's decision was negatively impacting Sabsabi's career more broadly. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email 'I have previously warned Creative Australia that their decision to repudiate Khaled Sabsabi's Venice Biennale commission had already set in motion the dismantling of his career and livelihood,' he said, adding: 'This cancellation is a direct result of Creative Australia's abandonment of him as an artist and a human being. They have allowed the mischaracterisation of him as a terrorist sympathiser to go unchecked. 'It should be clear, he is against terrorism and violence in all its forms and he is against racism in all its forms, including antisemitism.' A spokesperson for Monash University told Guardian Australia in a statement: 'Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA) will postpone the Flat Earth exhibition at the Caulfield campus. 'Through consultation with our communities we have identified there is a need for the museum to deepen its collaboration and engagement on this exhibition. Postponing the event will allow this important work to be undertaken.' Monash did not respond to queries from Guardian Australia about why the exhibition was postponed, whether it would be rescheduled or whether the decision was taken in response to Creative Australia's sacking of Sabsabi. Alongside Sabsabi, the exhibition was to include works by Sydney art collective Stolon Press – a longtime collaborator with Sabsabi – and Elisa Taber, a writer and anthropologist. Muma's website says Sabsabi's works were 'large, coffee-infused calligraphic paintings rooted in tasawwuf (Sufism), alongside abstracted silhouette works that employ numerology and repetition to explore spirituality and our shared human condition'. Milani said Creative Australia's decision has 'had a devastating impact on [Sabsabi's] career and wellbeing' and that he would continue to fight to be reinstated at the 2026 Venice Biennale. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Guardian Australia understands Creative Australia has paid out 90% of the $100,000 artist fee and $50,000 curator fee owed to the pair under the contract they signed before being abruptly terminated. Milani said he hoped Creative Australia's ongoing review into the process of selection of Sabsabi and Dagostino would result in them being reinstated. 'The decision by Creative Australia to repudiate his Venice Biennale contract was based on views which have now been almost unanimously disavowed by countless experts in the sector,' Milani said. 'When a bad, rushed decision based on incorrect information leads to a gross injustice, the courageous and ethical thing to do is to reverse the decision. 'It would be a win-win-win for everyone – for Khaled, for Creative Australia, for the art sector,' he said. Guardian Australia has contacted Creative Australia and Muma for comment. Amid widespread outrage in the Australian art world over the decision, it is unlikely another artist and curator will agree to replace Sabsabi and Dagostino – which may mean the Australian pavilion remains empty at the 2026 biennale. But Milani said Sabsabi will continue to make the planned biennale work, regardless of whether he is reinstated. 'We are making plans in that regard for it to be seen by a global audience,' he said.
