Kader Attia
dal 25/11/2013 al 15/11/2014
Segnalato da
25/11/2013
Kader Attia
Whitechapel, London
Continuum of Repair: The Light of Jacob's Ladder. An immersive, multi-media installation that maps the evolution of knowledge through the study of science, anthropology, politics and physics. It looks at the idea of books and objects as receptacles of history.
On 26 November the Whitechapel Gallery unveils a new site-specific
commission by French Algerian artist Kader Attia. The work revisits
the biblical story of Jacob’s ladder with a towering floor to ceiling
structure of rare artefacts and books that will fill the lofty spaces of
the Gallery.
Hidden inside this library is a cabinet of curiosities filled with items
from old scientific measuring devices to books by authors such as the
philosopher Descartes and biologist Alfred Russel Wallace. At the
centre of the work, a beam of light shines up to a mirrored ceiling
creating an infinity reflection in an evocation of the tale which
describes prophet Jacob’s vision of angels ascending from earth to
heaven.
Kader Attia’s (b.1970) multi-media installations reflect on
anthropology, politics and science and are rooted in history and
archival research. His works explore ideas around identity in an age of
globalisation and are informed by the experience of growing up
between Algeria and the Parisian suburbs, and later living in the
Democratic Republic of Congo and Venezuela.
Continuum of the Repair: the Light of Jacob's Ladder (2013), is on
display until November 2014 in Gallery 2, a dedicated space for site-
specific works of art. It is the result of an in-depth engagement with a
space that is steeped with history as the reading room of a former
library. The commission looks at the idea of books and objects as
receptacles of history, continuously carrying memories with them.
The installation is the latest chapter in Kader Attia’s research into the
concept of repair, which he sees as an underlying principle of
development and evolution in science and religion. As Attia says ‘the
biggest illusion of the Human Mind is probably the one on which Man has
built himself: the idea that he invents something, when all he does is
repair.’ This concept began with Attia’s work The Repair from Occident to
Extra Occidental Cultures (2012), presented at the international art
survey dOCUMENTA (13), Kassel, Germany. In the last year, he has
examined repair in relation to both nature and culture at a solo exhibition
at KunstWerke, Berlin (2013), and for the Whitechapel Gallery commission
he takes science and religion as his central focus.
Past works by Kader Attia include Ghost (2006), a metallic phantom
army resembling kneeling figures in prayer, or Untitled (Ghardaïa)
(2009), a scale model of an ancient North African town made from
couscous. For the Sydney Biennale in 2010, Attia created Kasbah
(2009) in which visitors were invited to walk across an installation of
corrugated aluminium and timber roofs, suggestive of a cramped
shanty town.
Exhibition Circle Supporters:
Galleria Continua, Leili Huth & Reza Kharaghan, Galerie Krinzinger, Mourad Mazouz and Galerie Nagel Draxler.
With thanks to Healthy Planet, Thomas Heneague Art Books and The Quarto Group.
Kader Attia was born in Dugny, France and he has exhibited widely internationally including at art survey dOCUMENTA (13), 2012. This is his first UK exhibition.
A fully illustrated catalogue documenting the commission will be published in 2014.
Image: Kader Attia, Continuum of Repair: The Light of Jacob’s
For further press information or images please contact:
Rachel Mapplebeck on 020 7522 7880 or email RachelMapplebeck@whitechapelgallery.org
Daisy Mallabar on 020 7522 7871 or email DaisyMallabar@whitechapelgallery.org
Opening: Tuesday 26 November 2013
Conversation: Wednesday 27 November 2013, 7-8.30 pm - Creative Studio, Whitechapel Gallery
Whitechapel Gallery - Gallery 2
77-82 Whitechapel High Street, London, UK
Opening times: Tuesday – Sunday, 11am – 6pm, Thursdays, 11am – 9pm.
Admission free