Quotidien skyline

"Untitled (Skyline)" 2007

My friend Aretousa recently pointed me towards the works of Kader Attia, a French artist of Algerian descent. He takes everyday consumer objects like fridges and transforms them into a very familiar, engulfing urban landscape, remeniscent of the concrete parisian banlieue where he grew up. He draws attention to their strange symmetries and de-humanising qualities, thereby highlighting the impact of such urbanism on peoples' lives and the oppressiveness of the political situation that has created them.

His work also talks about how Corb was influenced by the Architecture of North Africa, which in had a massive impact in turn on the failed urban projects of Paris and Algeria. This is encapsulated in photographs of a beach "Rochers Carrés", a beach covered with huge concrete block, where Algerian youth hang out. The beach represents the ultimate boundary between them and europe, and potentially dreams of a better life, whilst also making the connection between the hardships experienced by youth on both sides of the water.

"Rochers Carrés"

http://www.creativeafricanetwork.com/page/8626/en
http://www.balticmill.com/whatsOn/present/ExhibitionDetail.php?exhibID=84