2018 Adel Abdessemed
Adel Abdessemed was born in Algeria to a modest family at the beginning of the 1970s. ‘I WAS BORN IN CONSTANTINE, TO A MUSLIM MOTHER, IN A JEWISH HOUSEHOLD WITH CHRISTIAN SISTERS WHO WERE THE MIDWIVES AT MY BIRTH. ALL OF THE MONOTHEISTIC GODS CAME TOGETHER ON THE DAY I WAS BORN.’
Of his childhood, he relates: ‘IN ALGERIA, AROUND THE 15TH OF EVERY MONTH, WHEN MY FATHER’S SALARY HADN’T YET BEEN PAID, MY MOTHER WOULD PREPARE A SLICE OF BREAD FOR US WITH A TOMATO AND SOME OLIVE OIL. AT THE BEGINNING OF EVERY MONTH, SHE WOULD PREPARE A FEAST WITH CAKES AND PASTRIES IN ENDLESS SUPPLY. I LIKED BOTH SCENARIOS. TODAY MY WORK IS LIKE THAT: I WORK AT THE CROSSROADS OF TWO EXTREMES.’
He knew the ‘bloody years’ and a ‘youth that had lost hope in their home country’. He insists on the fact that ‘ART WAS THE ONLY WAY OUT. [..] I DIDN’T CHOOSE ART, ART CHOSE ME.’
Adel Abdessemed, who declares himself to have been ‘constructed in brutality’ draws upon the violence and turbulence of the contemporary world to create powerful images that are self- evident, which attract the eye and imprint themselves on the retina. He also positions himself in relation to masterpieces like the Isenheim Altarpiece by Grünewald and Picasso’s Guernica.
Defying taboos, frequently drawing upon references from literature and art history, Adel Abdessemed carefully chooses his materials (barbed wire, dynamite, cannabis resin, marble...) to invent his own form of writing, an antidote to the videos.
His hard-hitting artworks, including the famous ‘Coup de tête’ given by Zidane to Materazzi* immortalized in bronze is an ode to defeat, a counter-monument in bronze, four metres high. ‘I EXPERIENCED ALL OF THE VIOLENCE OF ZIDANE’S GESTURE, WHICH I WATCHED ON THE TELEVISION. I WANTED TO SHOW THE DARKER SIDE OF HEROES, THE TASTE OF AN INELUCTABLE DESTINY AND THE STRIKING IMMEDIACY OF SUCH A GESTURE.’.
Read MoreOf his childhood, he relates: ‘IN ALGERIA, AROUND THE 15TH OF EVERY MONTH, WHEN MY FATHER’S SALARY HADN’T YET BEEN PAID, MY MOTHER WOULD PREPARE A SLICE OF BREAD FOR US WITH A TOMATO AND SOME OLIVE OIL. AT THE BEGINNING OF EVERY MONTH, SHE WOULD PREPARE A FEAST WITH CAKES AND PASTRIES IN ENDLESS SUPPLY. I LIKED BOTH SCENARIOS. TODAY MY WORK IS LIKE THAT: I WORK AT THE CROSSROADS OF TWO EXTREMES.’
He knew the ‘bloody years’ and a ‘youth that had lost hope in their home country’. He insists on the fact that ‘ART WAS THE ONLY WAY OUT. [..] I DIDN’T CHOOSE ART, ART CHOSE ME.’
Adel Abdessemed, who declares himself to have been ‘constructed in brutality’ draws upon the violence and turbulence of the contemporary world to create powerful images that are self- evident, which attract the eye and imprint themselves on the retina. He also positions himself in relation to masterpieces like the Isenheim Altarpiece by Grünewald and Picasso’s Guernica.
Defying taboos, frequently drawing upon references from literature and art history, Adel Abdessemed carefully chooses his materials (barbed wire, dynamite, cannabis resin, marble...) to invent his own form of writing, an antidote to the videos.
His hard-hitting artworks, including the famous ‘Coup de tête’ given by Zidane to Materazzi* immortalized in bronze is an ode to defeat, a counter-monument in bronze, four metres high. ‘I EXPERIENCED ALL OF THE VIOLENCE OF ZIDANE’S GESTURE, WHICH I WATCHED ON THE TELEVISION. I WANTED TO SHOW THE DARKER SIDE OF HEROES, THE TASTE OF AN INELUCTABLE DESTINY AND THE STRIKING IMMEDIACY OF SUCH A GESTURE.’.
