A printed work at the heart of the exhibition!

Paroles (Songbook) brings together all the textual collaborations generated by Saâdane Afif since 2004. In a formal way, the artist invited each author, commissioned each contribution and gave the source of each composition, his works being the starting point for all texts presented here.

The keystone of the Paroles exhibition, in which it has the status of a work, this printed object is the tool that brings the inner workings of the project to life. It is also used as a raw material for improvisations in the Lyrics Studio.

The book lists the 191 songs in 21 sections, in their original language. The sections are systematically introduced by a title page showing the title of the works that inspired the songs, their technical specifications and the title of the exhibition in which they were presented. The installations that run through the Lyrics exhibition at WIELS largely illustrate these collected texts and in turn echo this anthological object. By its volume, its segmentation and its substance it reveals itself in a duality between poetry and song.

With an introduction written by the exhibition curator: Zoë Gray (in English, French and Dutch).