Abdessamad El Montassir
Abdessamad El Montassir (1989, Morocco) lives and works between Boujdour and Marseille. His research-based practice is anchored in a trilogy of concepts: the right to forget, visceral narratives, and the trauma of anticipation. In his body of work, El Montassir sets reflexive processes that invite us to rethink history through collective or fictional narratives and immaterial archives. He has participated in several national and international exhibitions, including Invisible curated by Alya Sebti for the 13th Biennale of Contemporary African Art of Dakar and for ifa-Galerie in Berlin, De liens et d’exils at La Villa Empain – Fondation Boghossian in Brussels, Al Amakine in the context of 11ème Rencontres de Bamako, Saout Africa(s) in the context of the documenta 14 at SAVVY Contemporary in Berlin, among others. El Montassir also participated in various artist residencies such as the Art, Science and Society program at IMéRA in Marseille, La Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, the summer’s lab at Le Cube – independent art room in Rabat and the Résidence Méditerrannée at La Friche La Belle de Mai in Marseille.
A relative’s likeness surfaces as a tattoo on the arm of a Ukrainian soldier and an army base in Oklahoma, built to fight Kiowa and Apache, is rededicated to aid in the fight against Putin’s Western expansion. Adam Piron explores the contradictions of colonialism and anti-settler solidarity across time, geography and the muddled spaces of TikTok, where representations of Indigenous peoples are caught up in the chaotic circulation of images.
A hypnosis-inducing pan-geographic shuttle built on brainwave-generating binaural beats, Deep Sleep takes us on a journey through the sound waves of Gaza and competing sights of modern ruin. Precipitated by the artist’s restricted travel to Palestine, the work is an invitation to move between the corporeal self and the cinema space – transcending the limits of borders and the fallibility of memory.
An experimental horror film based on a series of paranormal events that took place in the early ’70s in Hexham, Northern England. In this modern-day folk tale, two brothers become terrorised by ghostly visions after bringing a pair of stone heads into their family home. Combining photographic documentation with personal archive material and dreamlike sequences, Hexham Heads reflects on the haunted nature of family photographs and domestic objects as vessels of trauma.
Reality or Not narrates the intriguing tale of a group of high school students nestled in the northern suburbs of Paris. They embark on a daring experiment, one that seeks to seize control of the reality enveloping them and reshape it according to their own vision. The project marks the latest milestone in the extensive research journey undertaken by the artist Cécile B. Evans, spanning the entirety of their career.
In The Burr’s window space, and inside we present Hanoi-based Lucia Pham’s fizzy animations. She designed Bari, the newly liberated pink Berwick Bear – proudly featured in all of our posters and designs this year!