MUSEmemoirs

Info:

• Dates: 16.02.24 – 30.06.24
• Curator: Marie-Laure Bernadac & Daria de Beauvais
• Where: Palais de Tokyo
• Price: 12 euro / 9 euro reduced

A truly moving exhibition, Dislocations showcases artworks created by artists living in exile. Organized in collaboration with the association Portes Ouvertes sur l’Art, dedicated to promoting and exhibiting painters experiencing exile, Dislocations features artworks by fifteen artists from diverse origins and generations. The exhibition’s layout isn’t too big, allowing visitors to spend time in each room and engage with the exhibition’s texts. These texts tell the background of each artist and illuminate the intentions behind the pieces, enriching their understanding.

From Pakistan, Palestine, Afghanistan, Syria and other countries, the exhibition sheds light on the experiences of artists from various countries. Despite their different stories and artistic approaches, they share a common thread: the anguish of feeling here and there, the drect or indirect experience of being forced to leave their homeland. Through mediums such as works on paper, acrylic, embroidery, painting on cloth, and photography, each artist expresses themselves uniquely. Yet, what unites these diverse works is their shared mission: to tell their story and communicate a strong message, sensibilizing people.

Every artist expresses the condition of exile in different manners. Some convey a sort of sense of melancholy for what it was left behind, as seen in the series of photographs by Sara Kontar (Lebanese). Others emphasize the act of bearing witness, recognizing its difficulty but essentiality in ensuring that stories are not left untold, as evident in the practice of Bissane al Charid (born in France but studied in Syria). Some depict personal experiences, such as the event recounted in the leporello by Randa Maddah (born in Golan, land occupied by Isreal) and those who on the contrary commit to “showing for others”, touched by indirect experiences of immigration, like the French artist Cathryn Boch. After moving to Marseille where she currently lives, Boch seeks to transcribe the stories of the many immigrants in the city, literally “sewing” their narratives to convey a message of urgency and hope for future generations.

Visitors leave the exhibition marked by an experience that goes beyond the contemplation of art, thanks to the authenticity and actuality of the stories and experiences conveyed through the artworks.

My personal highlights:

• Sans Titre, C. Boch (2023)
• Disparition, M. Murad (2022-23)
• Towards a light, S. Kontar (2021-22)
• Rémanence retour, R. Maddah (2021)

* EN translation:

“They want to say that the sea is too big and the boat is too small. They want to say ‘Mothers are afraid’. Silence doesn’t protect them. Nobody, nobody, nobody chooses to leave without having danger behind her back”

“Those who fight for leaving, those who fight all along their travels, those who fight to allow others to leave, those who fight when they arrive, those who fight to allow others to arrive”