Pop (Laocoon)
By reappropriating the Greek myth of Laocoon and the ancient work associated with it—the source of much artistic reflection since the seventeenth century—Saâdane Afif offers a daring rereading of the canons of art history. As in Pop (Everyday), the artist collaborates with Mick Peter to write a poem, for which the latter draws inspiration from another of Saâdane Afif’s works, the installation Laocoon II. Transcribed in the form of iridescent letters, this text allows his works to shift from the status of image to that of word, in a logic of perpetual metamorphosis and an extension of the work’s original meaning. The poem oxymoronically describes the death of the mythological figure in a scene characterised by both violence and beauty. This opposition recalls the Enlightenment philosopher Edmond Burke’s idea of the sublime, and questions the conceptual power of words, as well as the musicality and linguistic issues that are at the core of Saâdane Afif’s work.
Text written by Chiara Perez as part of the partnership between the École du Louvre and Lafayette Anticipations – Fonds de dotation Famille Moulin.
Exhibitions
La Galerie des Galeries, Paris (France)
from 27 Oct to 09 Dec 2006
Centre d'Art le LAIT, Albi (France)
from 02 Jul to 30 Oct 2005