Mounir Fatmi
Born in 1970, Tangier, Morocco.
Lives and works between Paris and Tangier, Morocco.
Video, painting, sculpture, installation, drawing
« Those who can still dream no longer sleep. »
Mounir Fatmi can be considered to be one of the key artists of his generation. His work as a visual artist, which directly tackles Oriental culture, broadly speaking, and the Muslim religion especially, demonstrates how tradition (where the sense of decency is sometimes combined with ignorance), with regards to daily life in the West, separates people rather than bring them together. Mounir Fatmi encourages audiences to project themselves into a trans-cultural network where those who know and those who don't know are treated equally. His work urges people to go beyond already established cultural divisions, and to question ways of thinking, as well as to break loose from traditions and their biases. To achieve this, he uses tools originating from both popular culture and the media to attract an audience that will be very much overwhelmed by shocking images that have become run-of-the-mill and drained of any sense thanks to his manipulation. By associating images where several different meanings are possible, he opens the door to a scathing critical analysis of indifference and forgetfulness.
Lives and works between Paris and Tangier, Morocco.
Video, painting, sculpture, installation, drawing
« Those who can still dream no longer sleep. »
Mounir Fatmi can be considered to be one of the key artists of his generation. His work as a visual artist, which directly tackles Oriental culture, broadly speaking, and the Muslim religion especially, demonstrates how tradition (where the sense of decency is sometimes combined with ignorance), with regards to daily life in the West, separates people rather than bring them together. Mounir Fatmi encourages audiences to project themselves into a trans-cultural network where those who know and those who don't know are treated equally. His work urges people to go beyond already established cultural divisions, and to question ways of thinking, as well as to break loose from traditions and their biases. To achieve this, he uses tools originating from both popular culture and the media to attract an audience that will be very much overwhelmed by shocking images that have become run-of-the-mill and drained of any sense thanks to his manipulation. By associating images where several different meanings are possible, he opens the door to a scathing critical analysis of indifference and forgetfulness.
