Kunsthal Charlottenborg is proud to present a solo exhibition featuring French-Algerian artist Mohamed Bourouissa. Working in the field where documentary and fiction intersect, Bourouissa uses photography, rap music and other modes of expression to call attention to the peripheries of society and challenge the mainstream media’s portrayals of young people from ethnic minority backgrounds. Widely exhibited around the world, the artist was awarded the British Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize last year.

Mohamed Bourouissa’s solo exhibition at Kunsthal Charlottenborg presents a selection of early and recent works and spans many media: photography, sound, installation and video, including the video Temps Mort (2008­–09), in which the artist exchanges messages and grainy smartphone images with an imprisoned friend. Also featured are portraits of youth culture in central Paris, Nous Sommes Halles (2003–05), and staged depictions of French suburban ghetto street life inspired by canonical art-historical references in the series Périphéries (2006-08). These works challenge contemporary image culture and the media’s portrayals of young people with minority backgrounds.

The sound installation Hara (2020), after which the exhibition is named, highlights Bourouissa’s interest in language, codes and communication. The word ‘hara’ is used in Marseille by young people acting as lookouts: they shout it as a warning, for example to inform drug dealers that the police are approaching. Here, the distorted word becomes a sound installation poised somewhere between everyday language and abstract sound, veering in the direction of concrete poetry.

A major highlight is Bourouissa’s critically acclaimed film installation Horse Day (2014–15). Bourouissa moved to a run-down low-income area in Philadelphia, USA with the intention of making an alternative kind of cowboy film – set in the big city and with African-American protagonists – but, after living there for eight months, he ended up doing something else instead. He portrayed the local community in a film documenting Horse Day; an event initiated by Bourouissa, where riders collaborated with local artists on decorating the horses for a show.

The installation Brutal Family Roots (2020) was originally created for last year’s Sydney Biennale during a residency at the Bundanon Trust south of Sydney, an area which was originally home to the Wodi Wodi people of the Yuin nation. During his stay, Bourouissa created this work in collaboration with the musicians MC Kronic (hip hop/rap artist, activist and poet belonging to the Wodi Wodi people), Nardean (Egyptian-Australian MC, poet, singer and songwriter) and Jordan Quiqueret (French sound designer and programmer).

Mohamed Bourouissa (b. 1978 in Blida, Algera) lives in Paris. He has exhibited widely – solo exhibitions include Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, Haus der Kunst in Munich and most recently Goldsmiths CCA in London. He has participated in a large number of group exhibitions including the biennials in Sydney, Sharjah, Havana, Lyon, Venice, Algeria, Liverpool and Berlin. In 2018 he was nominated for the prestigious French art award Le Prix Marcel Duchamp and in 2020 he was awarded the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Award.

The exhibition HARa!!!!!!hAaaRAAAAA!!!!!hHAaA!!! at Kunsthal Charlottenborg is Mohamed Bourouissa’s first solo show in Scandinavia. The exhibition is curated by Henriette Bretton-Meyer and created in close collaboration with Goldsmiths CCA in London, where it was shown earlier this year.

The exhibition is supported by the Augustinus Foundation, the Obel Family Foundation and the Danish Arts Foundation.

Talk: Friday 8 October 2021 at 16.00
Just before the opening, curator Henriette Bretton-Meyer and Mohamed Bourouissa engage in a conversation about the exhibition, the works and the creative process behind them. The talk takes place in the art gallery’s cinema. Free admission.

I efteråret slår Kunsthal Charlottenborg dørene op til en soloudstilling med den fransk-algeriske kunstner Mohamed Bourouissa. Han arbejder i spændingsfeltet mellem dokumentar og fiktion, og bruger bl.a. fotografi og rapmusik til at sætte fokus på samfundets periferi og konfrontere mediernes fremstillinger af unge med anden etnisk baggrund. Han har udstillet over det meste af verden og blev sidste år tildelt den engelske Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize.

Udstillingen med Mohamed Bourouissa på Kunsthal Charlottenborg præsenterer et udvalg af tidligere og nyere værker og spænder over fotografi, lyd, installation og video. Heriblandt videoen Temps Mort (2008–09), hvor kunstneren udveksler beskeder og kornede smartphone-billeder med en fængslet ven, portrætterne af ungdomskultur i Paris’ centrum Nous Sommes Halles (2003-5) og iscenesættelser af fransk forstadsghettogadeliv efter kanoniske kunsthistoriske forbilleder i serien Périphéries (2006-08). Det er værker, der konfronterer samtidens billedkultur og mediernes fremstillinger af unge med anden etnisk baggrund.

Lydinstallationen Hara (2020), der har givet udstillingen sin titel, peger på Bourouissas interesse for sprog, koder og kommunikation. Ordet ’hara’ bruges i Marseille af unge, der holder udkig, som advarsel til bl.a. narkohandlere om, at politiet nærmer sig. Det forvrængede ord bliver her til en lydinstallation, der på grænsen mellem dagligt sprogbrug og abstrakt lyd peger i retning af konkret poesi.

Et hovedværk er Bourouissas kritikerroste filminstallation Horse Day (2014–15). Bourouissa flyttede til et run down lavindkomstområde i Philadelphia i USA med en hensigt om at lave en anderledes cowboyfilm – i storbyen og med afroamerikanske hovedpersoner – men endte efter 8 måneders ophold med at portrættere lokalsamfundet i et filmværk, der dokumenterer Horse Day; en begivenhed igangsat af Bourouissa, hvor rytterne i samarbejde med lokale kunstnere pyntede hestene til en opvisning.

Installationen Brutal Family Roots (2020) blev oprindeligt skabt til sidste års Sydney Biennale under et residency ved Bundanon Trust syd for Sydney, et område, der oprindeligt tilhørte Wodi Wodi-folket i Yuin-nationen. Under opholdet skabte Bourouissa værket i samarbejde med musikerne MC Kronic (hiphop/rap-kunstner, aktivist og digter, der tilhører Wodi Wodi-folket), Nardean (egyptisk-australsk MC, digter, sanger og sangskriver) og Jordan Quiqueret (fransk lyddesigner og programmør).

Mohamed Bourouissa (f. 1978 i Blida, Algeriet) er bosat i Paris. Han har udstillet over det meste af verden med soloudstillinger på bl.a. Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Barnes Foundation i Philadelphia, Stedelijk Museum i Amsterdam, Haus der Kunst i München og senest Goldsmiths CCA i London. Han har deltaget i en lang række gruppeudstillinger inkl. biennalerne i Sydney, Sharjah, Havana, Lyon, Venice, Algeriet, Liverpool og Berlin. I 2018 var han nomineret til den prestigefyldte franske kunstpris Le Prix Marcel Duchamp, og i 2020 blev han tildelt den engelske Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Award.

Udstillingen HARa!!!!!!hAaaRAAAAA!!!!!hHAaA!!! på Kunsthal Charlottenborg er Mohamed Bourouissas første soloudstilling i Skandinavien. Udstillingen er kurateret af Henriette Bretton-Meyer og skabt i tæt samarbejde med Goldsmiths CCA i London, hvor den blev vist tidligere i år.

Udstillingen er støttet af Augustinus Fonden, Det Obelske Familiefond, Statens Kunstfond.

EVENTS

8. okt kl. 16.00-17.00
Talk med Mohamed Bourouissa

8. okt. kl. 17-20
Fernisering: HARa!!!!!!hAaaRAAAAA!!!!!hHAaA!!! af Mohamed Bourouissa