Guggenheim Museum, New York, among many others. Kader Attia’s work has been shown in group shows and biennials such as the 12th Shanghai Biennial (2018) the 12th Gwangju Biennial (2018) Manifesta 12 in Palermo (2018) the 57th Biennale di Venezia (2017) and dOCUMENTA 13 in Kassel (2012) and at Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin Met Breuer, New York Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna MoMA, New York Tate Modern, London Centre Pompidou, Paris and the Solomon R. 1970, France), currently based in Berlin, grew up in Paris and in Algeria. Juxtaposing various works of architecture, the artist looks for similarities and connections between the “developed” and “primitive” countries and thus creates alternative architectural history that critiques and disrupts the dominant Western-oriented view of the generally accepted genealogy of modern architecture.
In his cycle of collages Following the Modern Genealogy (2012–2018), Attia explores the relationship and intersection between modern Western architecture, Afro-Arab influences, and traditional building practices of the colonized territories. Kader Attia compares the concrete blocks of the beach to the environment of Parisian banlieues, with their massive apartment buildings – thus, paradoxically, to the place where many immigrants actually end up. They are staring at the horizon, dreaming of the promise of a better life in Europe, on the other side of the Mediterranean.
The series of photographs Rochers Carrés (2008) presents portraits of young men sitting on huge concrete blocks at a beach called Rochers Carrés (Square Rocks) in Algeria. In another photograph, Satellite Dishes (2009), traces of other lives can be sensed behind the “forest” of satellites mounted on the large housing complex Diar El Mahçoul in Algiers, built by the prominent French architect and urban planner Fernand Pouillon (1912–1986) in the mid-1950s. A similar position is offered in the large-scale photograph Snails (2009) showing the hostile and degraded environment of the Parisian suburbs. Behind these façades, we suspect the “invisibles” – their politically, economically and culturally exploited inhabitants, pushed to the margins. The video Normal City (2003) closely depicts the building façades of the immigrant housing estates of major French cities and thus reflects the living space of people who have often arrived to France from its former colonies. The exhibited artworks were created between 2003–2018. The exhibition at the VI PER Gallery presents a selection of his photographs, collages and a video, all of them intertwined by the themes of architecture.
Rooted in both the tradition and context of the Occident and the Orient, his work implies different meanings and translations using inconspicuous visual symbols and semantic references.Īs an artist, Attia works with different types of media. Using modern architecture as a critical example of an – often – malfunctioning living environment is an occurring subject of Attia’s work.
One of his interests is architecture and the setting it creates with its spatial and political dimension. Learn more.Kader Attia deals with colonial and post-colonial history and sensitively unfolds the complicated and “imbalanced” relationships between the Western and non-Western world and their mutual cultural, political, social, and technological exchange. Clark Title Bedcover Entitled "Genealogy" Origin Massachusetts Date Made 1896 Medium Wool, cotton, and silk, twill weaves and plain weave cut solid velvet, some stamped pieced embroidered with silk in back, single back, buttonhole, chain, detached chain, feather, double feather, herringbone, satin, single satin, and stem stitches backed stitch couching edged with cotton, plain weave backed with cotton, satin weave sewn with cotton thread Inscriptions Top border: These are the descendents of William Rairigh through one hundred years 1796-1896 Dimensions 221.3 × 224.2 cm (87 1/8 × 88 1/4 in.) Credit Line Gift of Shelly Zegart Reference Number 2001.463 IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. About this artwork Status Currently Off View Department Textiles Artist Catharine L.