For her personal exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo, Laura Henno presents a collection of films and photos from her journey throughout the Archipelago of Comoros, between Mayotte and Anjouan, starting in 2013. This territory of sharp contrasts, lacerated by migration policies and an omnipresent colonial legacy mark the itinerary of the exhibition. The artist enters into the lives of the marginalised, exploring the spaces of resistance that come to life to respond to situations of domination and exclusion. The communities which, over a number of years, Henno has followed up close, have chorally invented new ways of living in the world, often finding refuge in natural environs. Through the exhibition, the public is invited to follow the first trips in Comoros, during which the artist came into contact with the complex identity of those who inhabit these insular territories. During these encounters, she made a strong connection with Patron, a daughter of the water, protagonist of the film KOROPA (2016). Following the trajectory of Patron which leads to the French island of Mayotte, the artist sinks into the invisible forces behind Comorian beliefs. From this experience comes the film DJO (2018), focused on Smogi, with his unique relationship with his dogs, as well as with the forces of the elements, nature and the spirits that possess these. In her new work Ge Ouryao! Pourquoi t’as Peur!, Henno connects the lives of Patron and Smogi to the Boucheman, a gang of teens without proper documents who, on a beach, are forced to improvise their survival daily, between waiting endlessly and roaming without a destination in sight.
Five contemporary artists transfigure the architecture of Frank Gehry into vibrant landscapes running from the floor to the ceiling.
Built around the samurai, the exhibition, through prints, armour, works of art and photos, retraces the many aspects of these warriors.
On display, the works of the Argentinian artist convinced that art is not “beauty and originality but efficiency and chaos”.
A large exhibition to rediscover the giant of French sculpture - from his decorative talents to his propensity for the essential, the artist of the 1900s offers an itinerary dense with masterpieces.
