Presented as part of the Fragmenting the World season, this exhibition offers a committed look at contemporary creation from the Persian Gulf, where wars and diplomatic tensions have continued to determine the history of this early 21st century. The title explicitly refers to the human dramas generated by the successive conflicts in this region, while integrating in a broader way the ecological catastrophes embodied by the immense destructive forest fires from the Amazon to Siberia via California. The exhibition presents a complex mix of events, like the destruction of Iraqi treasures to the fate of Syrian refugees and the financing of the Taliban through the exploitation of lapis lazuli in Afghanistan, while offering multiple poetic escapes. It also opens its reflection to the problematic of the Anthropocene and to the question of the use of natural resources in order to participate in the debate on the need to change our exclusively utilitarian relationship with the environment.


Wael Shawky, Al Araba Al Madfuna III, 2016 Installation vidéo, 27’02’’ Courtesy de l’artiste