Wiels | EN

Saâdane Afif

Paroles

01 02 22 04 2018

Saâdane Afif creates artworks that enable him to involve other people in his artistic practice. He explores the processes of translation and interpretation that are inherent in any encounter with a work of art, as – according to Marcel Duchamp – “it is the beholder who makes the work of art.”

Saâdane Afif Wiels Brussel Bruxelles hedendaagse kunst contemporary art contemporain museum musée
Saâdane Afif, Paroles, installation view, WIELS, Brussels, 2018 © Hugard & Vanoverschelde

Afif employs popular forms of culture, such as music, as a tool to bring people together in a moment of shared creativity. His work takes many forms (performance, objects, sculptures, text, posters…), often using the moment of exhibition as an occasion for production. The exhibition Paroles presents an overview of his work of the past 15 years. Since 2004, he has been commissioning writers and artists to create lyrics inspired by his artworks, which are then exhibited alongside them. These lyrics have become key material for Afif, central to the evolution of his practice.

On the occasion of this exhibition, a book, also titled Paroles, is published by WIELS featuring more than 150 lyrics written to date. The exhibition itself presents an overview of his process and a selection of projects from which lyrics have been generated. These range from a coffin in the form of the Centre Pompidou (Anthologie de l’humour noir, 2010) to an installation of electric guitars automatically playing a series of chords (Black Chords, 2006).

Saâdane Afif was born in 1970 in Vendôme (France). He lives and works in Berlin.

Saâdane Afif : Paroles
01.02 - 22.04.2018
Opening and performance : 31.01.2018, 19:00 - 22:00
Finissage : 22.04.2018, 18:00 - 21:00
Curator : Zoë Gray

Saâdane Afif installation installatie museum musée contemporary art contemporain hedendaagse kunst
Saâdane Afif, Paroles, installation view, WIELS, Brussels, 2018 © Hugard & Vanoverschelde

At the heart of the exhibition, a music studio is installed, complete with instruments. You are invited to come and play music here, to take part in jam sessions under the guidance of a studio master. The only rule is that you must use the lyrics contained in Afif’s songbook Parolesas the inspiration for your musical interpretations.

With the support of :

Xavier Hufkens, Brussels
Mehdi Chouakri, Berlin
mor charpentier, Paris
Goethe-Institut

Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen
Institut français and the French Embassy in Belgium in the framework of EXTRA
Maene
smARTplaces, co-funded by Creative Europe, Programme of the European Union