“Adel Abdessemed’s art work is a marriage made not in heaven, but in the grit and gravel of solid earth. It is one that weds violence, destruction, and anxiety with formal elegance and biting wit. For Abdessemed, a union „until death do us part“ is inaccurate since his work is a bond created at the brink of death. This theme is clearly not uncharted artistic ground, but Abdessemed’s engagement with such provocative subject matter is unlike any other artist working in France or elsewhere.
Perhaps more enticing for feline viewers than human museum-goers, Abdessemed’s video, Birth of Love, is a dual metaphor for disgust and tastiness. The close-up shot of a cat eating a mouse is a concise illustration of the nature’s food chain staged on the urban street. The sad story of the rodent that was stalked, hunted and killed is also the twinned tale of the happy cat that eats for another day. Recorded not far from the artist’s studio, Abdessemed reminds the viewer that the shadow play of life and death, predator and prey, is never far out of sight and mind.”
Alanna Heiss, Director of P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, 2007
Adel Abdessemed
New York, NY
New York
North America
