What does it mean to “fix” something? If a bond—physical, social, psychological—is broken, can it ever truly be reconnected? If so, how can such a repair be achieved? Internationally acclaimed French-Algerian artist Kader Attia mines historical archives to understand complicated relationships between people: colonizer and colonized, master and slave, residents of the geopolitical north and south. He has pursued these inquiries primarily through the lens of colonial legacies, particularly in Africa, and their influence on European modernism. Attia’s research residency at Northwestern University’s Herskovits Library of African Studies allowed him to spend a year poring over the library’s vast collection of books, journals, and ephemera, and conduct interviews with university faculty in disciplines ranging from science and philosophy to history and anthropology. “Reflecting Memory,” the result of this deep scholarly engagement, is an exhibition consisting of three collages, one sculpture, and a filmic essay of the same title. It expands on Attia’s preoccupation with fraught connections and the ways they manifest themselves through collective and individual memories.
There’s a belief that not only do people need to “see” trauma in order to believe it, feel it, or understand it, they also need to have that trauma presented to them in very particular ways. Huey Copeland, associate professor of art history at Northwestern, expands on notions of memory and visual images in the film, drawing parallels between the contemporary phenomenon of people sharing video of police violence, usually against black people, and authors writing about slavery who use images of indentured servants rather than actual slaves to illustrate conditions.
Through 4/16: Tue-Wed 10 AM-5 PM, Thu-Fri 10 AM-8 PM, Sat-Sun 10 AM-5 PM Northwestern University Block Museum of Art 40 Arts Circle Dr., Evanston 847-491-4000blockmuseum.northwestern.edu Free
