Screen Shot, 2015

Basel 2017
Screen Shot

Mennour, kaufmann repetto, Dvir Gallery

Installation
Wood, aluminum frames, canvas, tack clothes, India ink
173.0 x 300.0 x 2.5 (cm)
68.1 x 118.1 x 1.0 (inch)
Latifa Echakhch’s Screen Shot is a labyrinth of 3-panel paravents made of cotton canvas on painting frames. On top are draped clothes immersed in black India ink, which drip onto the virgin canvas and the floor. The size of the paravent is 173 cm, equal in size to the artist. The clothes – T-shirt, shirt, jacket, trousers, jeans, cardigan, jumper – have been worn by the artist. The paravent is the separation between public and private space, the tool used to hide a body from the other. The use of personal clothes and personal size represents an ‘after-scenography’ of an intimate performance; the moment when costumes are off and the event has passed. It remains a reminiscence of an imprecise gesture that is open to interpretation. ‘Exhibiting in Münstersaal resonates with me because many times in my work practice I’ve been focused on what we call “la dépossession” of Christ, this moment when his clothes are taken by people as he walks the streets, leaving him with almost nothing. Sacrificed by the other and for the other. It’s for me a strong image of a forced minimalism.’ – Latifa Echakhch