Kader Attia
b. 1970
Born in 1970 in Dugny, France, and raised in suburban Paris and Algeria, Kader Attia earned degrees from the École Supérieure des Arts Appliqués Duperré, Paris, in 1993; and École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, in 1998. Attia’s binational background informs a practice that reflects on prevailing differences between contemporary cultures and aesthetics, and on the impact of dominant Western societies on their former colonial counterparts in the context of a globalized world. In installations, photographs, and videos, Attia focuses on the liminal zones that separate contrasting sensibilities, and on attempts to close these gaps. Much of his research has been centered on the concept of repair, which he regards as a human constant envisioned in opposing ways by Western modernists and Eastern traditionalists. Attia regards as erroneous the notion that humankind invents objects, environments, or situations, as opposed to simply repairing—or adapting—existing models. Attia’s photographic series Rochers Carrés (Square rocks, 2008) presents young Algerians seated on large concrete blocks at a local beach, gazing out to sea in the direction of an unseen Europe. The block…
Films