At a time when attempts to polarize thought are flourishing, the exhibition "Silsila, le voyage des regards" (Silsila, the journey of the eyes), presented from March 31 to July 31, 2022 by the Institute of Islamic Cultures, questions the notions of transmission and representation through the works of artists who live in France and whose personal or family history is part of a migratory journey.
Silsila ("the chain" in Arabic) evokes the bonds of filiation that unite people or events, a series of singular but inseparable links, like so many intertwined destinies.
Delicately weaving the threads of their origins, the artists alternate mediums and registers, figuration and abstraction, to summon up imaginary images referring to intimacy and memories, to symbols and rituals. They explore the history of art and poetry, analyze heritage in the literal and figurative sense, and affirm feminine identities in movement, going beyond the norms of tradition. Between past and present, here and there, their works invite a journey of the glances.
The exhibition is accompanied by a multidisciplinary program that honors women: storytellers of legends from Lebanon, Mali, Algeria and Morocco on the occasion of Ramadan, a singer revisiting the Mandingo heritage, conferences with artists from the diversity testifying to their journey or diverting the codes of orientalism ... Not to mention film-snacks, shows and workshops of artistic practice for young audiences.
Cur. Bérénice Saliou
