Month: October 2015

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Moussa Ag Assarid

Agnieszka Gratza

 This article appeared in the Expat Lives series of the FT Weekend: ©Theophile Trossat When the fancy takes him and when he has the time, Moussa Ag Assarid walks around the French city of Angers sporting the elaborate indigo-dyed cheche traditionally worn by Tuareg nomads, “the blue men of the desert”. In this guise, he becomes an object of curiosity. On the streets of Angers, people can instantly tell he is a Tuareg, so deeply is the image ingrained in the French psyche, according to Ag Assarid. But this soon turns to puzzlement: “If you’re a Tuareg, you should be … Continue reading Moussa Ag Assarid

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Ljubljana Biennial of Graphic Arts

Agnieszka Gratza

A version of this review of Over you / you, the 31st Biennial of Graphic Arts in Ljubljana, appeared in issue 50 of Mousse magazine: Karpa Godina’s Umetni raj (Artificial Paradise) At a time when biennials are legion, what makes Ljubljana’s Biennial of Graphic Arts distinctive is its long-standing commitment to a specific medium, that of printmaking. Now in its 60th year, the biennial started life as the International Graphic Exhibition, animated by idealistic goals and the ambition to act as a meeting point between east and west, in keeping with the host city’s central European location and the country’s … Continue reading Ljubljana Biennial of Graphic Arts

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Jasmina Cibic: Tear Down and Rebuild

Agnieszka Gratza

This Critics’ Pick of Jasmina Cibic’s Belgrade show appeared on artforum.com: Jasmina Cibic, Tear Down and Rebuild, 2015, HD video, color, sound, 13 minutes 52 seconds A conference room has never looked this good. Immaculately dressed and made-up, the four female speakers seated at the round table beneath a vast, elegant glass dome could be characters from Sex and the City were it not for their posh British accents and the fact that they appear to be debating the merits and demerits of an unspecified building slated for demolition. Culled from speeches by public figures, state officials, dictators, and architects … Continue reading Jasmina Cibic: Tear Down and Rebuild