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Rochers carrés
2008
Kader Attia
Photography
55,5 x 80,5 cm per picture
9 photographs printed on satin paper
The photographic series "Rochers carrés" (Square rocks) explores the relationship between the concrete of the local buildings in the area of Paris where the artist lives and a beach in Algiers where he spent his childhood. This beach is covered in enormous blocks of concrete, known as the "rochers carrés" (square rocks) by the local population, and its architecture resembles the town plans of Paris drawn up by Baron Haussmann. The square rocks attract the town's young inhabitants, as a last barrier separating them from Europe and therefore from their dreams of a better life. Kader Attia has therefore drawn parallels between the two sides of the Mediterranean, the difficult existence of young Algerians reminding him of the struggles of young people in his part of France. In both places, young people express the same lack of hope for a better future and the same feelings of failure and suffering.
The photographic series "Rochers carrés" (Square rocks) explores the relationship between the concrete of the local buildings in the area of Paris where the artist lives and a beach in Algiers where he spent his childhood. This beach is covered in enormous blocks of concrete, known as the "rochers carrés" (square rocks) by the local population, and its architecture resembles the town plans of Paris drawn up by Baron Haussmann. The square rocks attract the town's young inhabitants, as a last barrier separating them from Europe and therefore from their dreams of a better life. Kader Attia has therefore drawn parallels between the two sides of the Mediterranean, the difficult existence of young Algerians reminding him of the struggles of young people in his part of France. In both places, young people express the same lack of hope for a better future and the same feelings of failure and suffering.
Kader Attia
France
Born in 1970
Kader Attia grew up in Garges-les-Gonesses and Sarcelles, in the cosmopolitan and multi-cultural environment of urban areas with large black African, North African, Muslim and Jewish communities, and worked on the market stalls of Sarcelles from the age of 11. School seemed boring compared with this hive of activity, but like many children of his age, Attia entertained himself during lessons by drawing in the margins of his exercise books. His talent was spotted by a teacher, who took him to the open days at the University of Applied Arts in Paris. Having found a new enthusiasm for his studies, he obtained his baccalauréat, then attended the Duperré art school, before spending a year at the Barcelona University of Fine Arts (1994), and two years in the Congo, where he discovered African sculpture.
Since then his creations have alternated between installations ("La machine à rêve" 2003 Venice Biennale and "l'Atelier clandestin" 2004 Art Basel Miami Beach), videos ("Shadow" Video Zone, Tel Aviv 2004) and photography ("Alter Ego" Sketch Gallery, London 2005). Kader Attia's works interweave symbols and references, producing a wealth of different meanings, whose eloquence is always striking.
Since then his creations have alternated between installations ("La machine à rêve" 2003 Venice Biennale and "l'Atelier clandestin" 2004 Art Basel Miami Beach), videos ("Shadow" Video Zone, Tel Aviv 2004) and photography ("Alter Ego" Sketch Gallery, London 2005). Kader Attia's works interweave symbols and references, producing a wealth of different meanings, whose eloquence is always striking.
Artwork of
Kader Attia
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