Based on Dante's ‘Divine Comedy’, the Franco-Algerian artist Kader Attia is developing a journey that begins on the upper floor of the MO.CO and continues through the lower levels. From Purgatory (1st floor) to Paradise (basement), the exhibition takes stock of the world through a series of major, highly topical works, as well as more recent ones specially conceived for the exhibition.
Whether installations, videos, sculptures or collages, the artist's creations echo the ills of a society that no one can ignore. Made up of clothes and shoes strewn across the floor in shades of blue irremediably reminiscent of the sea, the installation ‘Mer Morte’ (Dead Sea), for example, suggests the tragic fate of those who cross the waves in search of a better life. As is often the case, Kader Attia interweaves powerful visual symbolism with language, and the very title of the work is evocative.
Far from envisaging art as a mode of expression devoid of moral or useful functions, and without ever setting himself up as a master, the artist seeks to immerse visitors through works that question the workings of the contemporary world. In many of his works, Kader Attia calls on the sense of hearing as well as the sense of looking. Such is the case with this installation, made up of some twenty rain sticks activated by a system of rotating motors that turn and turn tirelessly. Fascinated by objects that produce a dialogue between nature and culture, the artist has created a veritable choreography with this work. Inspired as much by the rain as by the wind, Kader Attia is ultimately referring to the very idea of eternal recommencement.
As part of this desire to repair societal trauma, it is also important to replay certain historical moments, subtly revealing them, as shown by the sculptures in the ‘Mirrors and Masks’ series. By covering wooden copies of African masks with fragments of broken mirrors, the artist invites viewers to question what these objects reflect. These works highlight the appropriation of a heritage - that of pre-modern African culture - by the West, and in particular by artists such as Picasso. The sculptures are as much about shining a spotlight on a violent phenomenon as they are about healing the symbolic wounds caused by the erasure of this culture.
Throughout the exhibition, questions and thoughts flow freely, and Kader Attia's striking work inspires visitors' reflections, encouraging them to take a critical view of the events that make up History. From injury to reparation, there are a thousand and one steps that the artist suggests we take...