Published 11 April 2023 in News
Galerie Christophe Person
'ART IN WAR' Group Exhibition Curated by Contemporary Lab at Galerie Christophe Person
Galerie Christophe Person
39 rue des Blancs-Manteaux 75004, Paris, France
20 April - 13 May 2023
The 'ART IN WAR' exhibition presents artists from Africa and its diaspora who create in a world in conflict.
Participating Artists Include: Aboudia (Ivory Coast), Manga Lulu Williams (Cameroon), Paul Ndema (Uganda), Kofi Bright Awuyah (Ghana), Mohamed Saïd Chair (Morocco), Madiha Sebbani (Morocco / United Kingdom), Ahmed Kamel (Egypt / Germany), Bernard Brand (South Africa), Olamilekan Abatan (Nigeria), Omar Ba (Senegal) & Kirubel Melke (Ethiopia).
We live in a climate of high media coverage of war, we suffer from it if we are not already taking part in it in some way. The 'ART IN WAR' exhibition shows how artists contribute to visual documentation through the representation of conflicts, past or present, and their effects on individuals and society.
The exhibition presents common points between artists who have been exposed, even affected, by the war. The need to understand one's justification, the feeling of belonging, the desire to contextualize inevitably lead to persistent disillusionment with the conflict. Each artist approaches the trauma of war from a unique and singular point of view but it seems that the collective memory is inherently distorted because it is influenced by various internal and external prejudices, even if the memory felt is very real. 'ART IN WAR' offers a dialogue between works which, on the one hand, offer a reflection on the repercussions of war and, on the other hand, invoke memories so as not to repeat the mistakes of the past.
As the King of Morocco Hassan II said in François-Henri de Virieu's "L'heure de vérité" broadcast live from the Royal Palace in Rabat in 1989: "The peace process to which we all aspire will not necessarily result of the mere signing of a treaty or an agreement. It must become a matter of our daily life, so that peace settles down and lasts and is carried by all. We must therefore give peace all the necessary care, preserve it and promote it."
'Art In War' Catalogue (Cover). Courtesy of Contemporary Lab & Galerie Person
For your convenience, the Exhibition Catalogue may be viewed on Calaméo here
For more information about the Exhibition please navigate to the Galerie Christophe Person website here
Image Credit: 'Untitled', Aboudia, circa 2017. Courtesy of Galerie Person