Kader Attia & Jean-Jacques Lebel. One and the Other

About

“L’Un et l’Autre [One and the Other] is not an exhibition but a research laboratory. It is the result of an exchange of our perspectives, of a partnership underpinned by our deep friendship. We present here a selection of our work linked to the major questions of our civilization, which are approached principally through two installations. The first addresses the fabrication in and by the dominant media of the absolute Other, a violent and warlike entity that never fails to inspire fear: the Satan, the Savage, the Terrorist. The second concerns the persistence throughout history of humiliation, rape and torture in imperialist war crimes.

As a counterpoint to these installations, we present some of the enigmatic and polysemic objects that we have collected over the years, objects charged with spirits that are invisible to the naked eye, which speak to us all, which transmit coded discourses, and which enact both réparations and détournements.

Alongside this heterogeneous ensemble — of visual and sound works, of films and viewpoints, of nameless objects, of face and stomach masks, all woven together with one another — we have looked to bring together artists and filmmakers whose approaches intersect with our own. Together, we form a ‘collective assemblage of enunciation’ (Felix Guattari), an endless ‘montrage’ which generates multiple perspectives, horizons and criteria for appreciation and evaluation. This transcultural laboratory is only just getting started.” Kader Attia and Jean-Jacques Lebel