Rien sinon du rêve au doigt

Prélude de l'élan visible series has been inspired by the artist, after he was marked by the recent accounts of  violence and arrests. Massinissa Selmani wanted to translate this use of excessive physical and institutional force. Nevertheless, he does not aim here to describe a specific action or event, but rather a situation in which the violence of authority is played out in the face of its being challenged through various forms of protest (resistance, opinions, the unbolting of statues, etc.). He thus offers a subjective reading of so-called "legitimate" physical violence by focusing more on its structural and unfathomable part rather than its contextual one.

In the drawing La voix d'en face, Massinissa Selmani constructs space through a graphic play on absence and shadows, where the architectural elements are revealed by what surrounds them. The shadow on the staircase hints at the possibility of the existence of an object that is projected; perhaps an invisible wall on which a ladder rests. The movement of the figure, who seems to be throwing a buoy or a tyre, accentuates the extension of the scene to the right. On the opposite side, there are oars on a stretch of grass resting on what appears to be a rock. Between movement and immobility, the elements assembled by the artist 'hold' and compromise each other, opening up a multitude of reading possibilities.

Inspired by Jean Sénac's poems, Massinissa Selmani tries to capture the particular rhythm of the author's writing. He draws fragments with watercolour that echo the language. The sentences are sometimes left as they are, sometimes invented, modified or expanded, while preserving and emphasizing the impertinence and absurdity of the revolutionary poet's words. Far from illustration, Massinissa Selmani focuses mainly on the formal and graphic rhythm to develop a poetry of drawing that is central in his work.

Inspired by Jean Sénac's poems, Massinissa Selmani tries to capture the particular rhythm of the author's writing. He draws fragments with watercolour that echo the language. The sentences are sometimes left as they are, sometimes invented, modified or expanded, while preserving and emphasizing the impertinence and absurdity of the revolutionary poet's words. Far from illustration, Massinissa Selmani focuses mainly on the formal and graphic rhythm to develop a poetry of drawing that is central in his work.

In this drawing, Massinissa Selmani correlates the shadow of an orphaned and coloured tree with the one of a cloud that dominates it.

Altérables is a long-term project that consists of creating a series of images with the same process: images recovered from newspapers are photocopied and then retouched by using one or more layers of transparent tracing paper. On each layer, a drawing comes duplicate, move or add an element or a contour of the original image. The transformed image is thus 'altered' and put into a different context, opening up the field of interpretation and diverting the original meaning of the source-image.

The series Aubes insondables represents an evolution in the work of Massinissa Selmani. Here, the artist is interested in the forms' suggestion through a play on space and values. Although his sources of inspiration deflect from the written press, these works are nevertheless in line with his reflection of designing enigmatic, floating and imaginary spaces. He conceives environments, in an "unfathomable" style as the title suggests, without beginning or end, accentuating the mystery of floating scenes and architectures.

Prélude de l'élan visible series has been inspired by the artist, after he was marked by the recent accounts of  violence and arrests. Massinissa Selmani wanted to translate this use of excessive physical and institutional force. Nevertheless, he does not aim here to describe a specific action or event, but rather a situation in which the violence of authority is played out in the face of its being challenged through various forms of protest (resistance, opinions, the unbolting of statues, etc.). He thus offers a subjective reading of so-called "legitimate" physical violence by focusing more on its structural and unfathomable part rather than its contextual one.

The series Aubes insondables represents an evolution in the work of Massinissa Selmani. Here, the artist is interested in the forms' suggestion through a play on space and values. Although his sources of inspiration deflect from the written press, these works are nevertheless in line with his reflection of designing enigmatic, floating and imaginary spaces. He conceives environments, in an "unfathomable" style as the title suggests, without beginning or end, accentuating the mystery of floating scenes and architectures.

Altérables is a long-term project that consists of creating a series of images with the same process: images recovered from newspapers are photocopied and then retouched by using one or more layers of transparent tracing paper. On each layer, a drawing comes duplicate, move or add an element or a contour of the original image. The transformed image is thus 'altered' and put into a different context, opening up the field of interpretation and diverting the original meaning of the source-image.

Inspired by Jean Sénac's poems, Massinissa Selmani tries to capture the particular rhythm of the author's writing. He draws fragments with watercolour that echo the language. The sentences are sometimes left as they are, sometimes invented, modified or expanded, while preserving and emphasizing the impertinence and absurdity of the revolutionary poet's words. Far from illustration, Massinissa Selmani focuses mainly on the formal and graphic rhythm to develop a poetry of drawing that is central in his work.

Prélude de l'élan visible series has been inspired by the artist, after he was marked by the recent accounts of  violence and arrests. Massinissa Selmani wanted to translate this use of excessive physical and institutional force. Nevertheless, he does not aim here to describe a specific action or event, but rather a situation in which the violence of authority is played out in the face of its being challenged through various forms of protest (resistance, opinions, the unbolting of statues, etc.). He thus offers a subjective reading of so-called "legitimate" physical violence by focusing more on its structural and unfathomable part rather than its contextual one.

In 3 jours de travail, Massinissa Selmani depicts an scene without decor, occupied by three characters with anonymised faces, emphasising their movement all the more. The uniform of one of them suggests a position of power in relation to the other two, reminiscent of the images of arrests that feed the news. However, the artist does not wish to refer to a specific situation, and inserts enigmatic elements, such as this long metal rod that keeps the distance or these cacti in place of the faces. These associations induce a disturbing strangeness, between comic absurdity and fright.

The series Aubes insondables represents an evolution in the work of Massinissa Selmani. Here, the artist is interested in the forms's suggestion through a play on space and values. Although his sources of inspiration deflect from the written press, these works are nevertheless in line with his reflection of designing enigmatic, floating and imaginary spaces. He conceives environments, in an "unfathomable" style as the title suggests, without beginning or end, accentuating the mystery of floating scenes and architectures.

The series Après l'ordinaire (After the Ordinary) is rooted in the media imaginary of the political demonstrations and riots that have made the news in recent months. From the carcasses of burnt or overturned ordinary and police's cars that he takes from the press and photocopies, Massinissa Selmani reinterprets the ruins of violence by associating them with incongruous elements (hunting trophies, rocks, etc.). The latter seem to create a balance with this violence that they defuse, thus forming territories of conflict tinged with a mystical, even disturbing banality. Moreover, through the intrusion of formal geometric elements and the multiplication of points of view in the five variations of Après l'ordinaire, the artist pursues his reflection on altered images and the documentation of events through drawing.

The series Après l'ordinaire (After the Ordinary) is rooted in the media imaginary of the political demonstrations and riots that have made the news in recent months. From the carcasses of burnt or overturned ordinary and police's cars that he takes from the press and photocopies, Massinissa Selmani reinterprets the ruins of violence by associating them with incongruous elements (hunting trophies, turtles, wheels, rocks, etc.). The latter seem to create a balance with this violence that they defuse, thus forming territories of conflict tinged with a mystical, even disturbing banality. Moreover, through the intrusion of formal geometric elements and the multiplication of points of view in the five variations of Après l'ordinaire, the artist pursues his reflection on altered images and the documentation of events through drawing.

The series Après l'ordinaire (After the Ordinary) is rooted in the media imaginary of the political demonstrations and riots that have made the news in recent months. From the carcasses of burnt or overturned ordinary and police's cars that he takes from the press and photocopies, Massinissa Selmani reinterprets the ruins of violence by associating them with incongruous elements (hunting trophies, turtles, wheels, rocks, etc.). The latter seem to create a balance with this violence that they defuse, thus forming territories of conflict tinged with a mystical, even disturbing banality. Moreover, through the intrusion of formal geometric elements and the multiplication of points of view in the five variations of Après l'ordinaire, the artist pursues his reflection on altered images and the documentation of events through drawing.

In Une architecture sur le versant du cratère, Massinissa Selmani concieves a situation taking place in an imaginary and fantastic space, that resembles a theatre stage. In an enigmatic tone, the artist amuses himself by imagining architectural structures in which he assembles composite elements, leaving the viewer free to project his own relational patterns. The title, taken from a poem by Jean Sénac, comes as an additional element to those drawn, opening up other possibilities of interpretation.

The sculptures scattered throughout the exhibition are reuses and diversions of objects from urban signage or from everyday life (binoculars, stools, cacti).  They bring a new insight to the drawings by materialising elements straight out of Massinissa Selmani's compositions. The artist conceives the landscape as a territory of conflict, at once oneiric and surreal, tragic and absurd, made up of balances and confrontations. The installations are imagined as a mirror image of the watercolours, particularly through the titles. Indeed, the titles, taken from Paul Nougé's poems, shed new light on the works while establishing a dialogue with the spirit of Jean Sénac's poetry which gives the watercolours their titles.

The sculptures scattered throughout the exhibition are reuses and diversions of objects from urban signage or from everyday life (binoculars, stools, cacti).  They bring a new insight to the drawings by materialising elements straight out of Massinissa Selmani's compositions. The artist conceives the landscape as a territory of conflict, at once oneiric and surreal, tragic and absurd, made up of balances and confrontations. The installations are imagined as a mirror image of the watercolours, particularly through the titles. Indeed, the titles, taken from Paul Nougé's poems, shed new light on the works while establishing a dialogue with the spirit of Jean Sénac's poetry which gives the watercolours their titles.

The sculptures scattered throughout the exhibition are reuses and diversions of objects from urban signage or from everyday life (binoculars, stools, cacti).  They bring a new insight to the drawings by materialising elements straight out of Massinissa Selmani's compositions. The artist conceives the landscape as a territory of conflict, at once oneiric and surreal, tragic and absurd, made up of balances and confrontations. The installations are imagined as a mirror image of the watercolours, particularly through the titles. Indeed, the titles, taken from Paul Nougé's poems, shed new light on the works while establishing a dialogue with the spirit of Jean Sénac's poetry which gives the watercolours their titles.

The sculptures scattered throughout the exhibition are reuses and diversions of objects from urban signage or from everyday life (binoculars, stools, cacti).  They bring a new insight to the drawings by materialising elements straight out of Massinissa Selmani's compositions. The artist conceives the landscape as a territory of conflict, at once oneiric and surreal, tragic and absurd, made up of balances and confrontations. The installations are imagined as a mirror image of the watercolours, particularly through the titles. Indeed, the titles, taken from Paul Nougé's poems, shed new light on the works while establishing a dialogue with the spirit of Jean Sénac's poetry which gives the watercolours their titles.