Séparation

Adel Abdessemed made the street where he lives, rue Lemercier in Paris, his studio. A lion embodies the radicality and irreducible otherness of nature in the city. Separation shows the impossibility of mastering the lion’s movements no matter how hard the artist tries. He shows the disbelief of passers-by, whose reactions waver between fascination and fear in the face of the scene’s unpredictability.

The lion’s presence acts as a parallel between human and natural history. In this striking video, with its aura of lurking tragedy, Abdessemed offers a unique experience that plays on the ideas of confrontation, control and spectacle.

Adel Abdessemed's Separation was shown for the first time by the Pinault Collection at the Tri Postal in Lille during the “Passage du temps” (“Passage of Time”) show in 2008.