Titled “Strange Attractor”, the exhibition presents works bearing witness to his practice of photography, drawing, sculpture and video, along with live performances and installations.

Through this enigmatic title, which refers to a mathematical formula, Bourouissa strives to model the apparent incoherence of chaos. He calls the way marginalised individuals are depicted into question and analyses the mechanisms of authoritarian power and their effects on communities deprived of their rights.

Casting a scathing eye on society and its shortcomings, Bourouissa puts the individual at the centre of his concerns. He highlights the way in which the “system”, which does its all to take precedence over human beings, denies the multiplicity of their identities. Far from being satisfied with simple observation, Bourouissa reveals the means such individuals employ to construct or reconstruct themselves. 

Exchange, dialogue and sharing are also essential focuses in his work. His immersions in various communities have enabled him to make them the subjects of a number of his works: Pôle-Emploi’s premises in Marseille for L'Utopie d'August Sander [August Sander’s Utopia], 10 months in 2013 sharing the daily lives of the Fletcher Street Cowboys at their community stables in Philadelphia for Horse Day, and last but not least (with the help and support of the LaM), writing and theatre workshops with women prisoners with a view to creating a show together.

The exhibition highlights one of Mohamed Bourouissa’s lesser-known practices, drawing, and also reveals the genesis of his projects by showing the way in which the artist conceives, creates and stages them. In constant evolution, several installations have been reworked for the exhibition, opening up new avenues for reflection on our contemporary society, a society governed by media images. Like the artist’s creative process, their titles evolve, overlap and end up merging with each other.

Held in collaboration with the Palais de Tokyo (Paris), which will also be devoting an exhibition to him in early 2024, the exhibition at the LaM is set to explore our contemporary society’s relationship with authority, control, imprisonment and surveillance, subjects that Bourouissa has examined through installations and a brand-new show awaiting your discovery at the LaM!

Curatorship

Marie-Amélie Senot, Contemporary Art Collection Manager at the LaM

The exhibition enjoys the exceptional support of Lille European Metropolis and the sponsorship of the Fondation Crédit Mutuel Nord Europe, major sponsor of LaM’s 40th birthday.