"Zoulikha Bouaderbellah's piece Silence is composed of 24 Muslim prayer rugs aligned in a rectangle. In the middle of each rug, a circle is cut off. Inside these circles, directly on the floor, 24 pairs of high-heel shoes are placed. In an attempt to defy the aforementioned binary oppositions and stereotypical views of Islam, Bouabdebellah deliberately plays with several perceptions in this piece as well as with diverse symbols and elements belonging to both East and West and filled with religious and consumerist values." Excerpt, "Artistic (Self)-Representations of Islam and Muslims: Perspectives Across France and the Maghreb". Ramona Mielusel. Springer Nature, 1 janv. 2022 - 237 pages.
Under the pressure from associations and in the absence of security measures in place to protect the installation work displayed, Zoulikha Bouabdellah was forced to withdraw Silence from the exhibition Femina ou la réappropriation des modèles (Femina or the reappropriation of models) organized in France in January 2015 at the Pavillon Vendôme in Clichy-la-Garenne (Hauts-de-Seine), a few days following the tragic attacks on Charlie Hebdo.
The art installation has been acquired by the Spanish collector Tatxo Benet, co-founder of the media group Mediapro. Silence by Franco-Algerian Zoulikha Bouabdellah is one of the first new additions to the permanent collection of the future Museu de l'Art Prohibit (Casa Garriga Nogués), opening on September 2023 and dedicated to major works that have been the subject of censorship, bans or pressure.
Silence will be presented alongside works by Antoni Tàpies, Abel Azcona, Ai Weiwei, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Robert Mapplethorpe as well as David Wojnarowicz, Andrés Serrano and Santiago Sierra.
Under the pressure from associations and in the absence of security measures in place to protect the installation work displayed, Zoulikha Bouabdellah was forced to withdraw Silence from the exhibition Femina ou la réappropriation des modèles (Femina or the reappropriation of models) organized in France in January 2015 at the Pavillon Vendôme in Clichy-la-Garenne (Hauts-de-Seine), a few days following the tragic attacks on Charlie Hebdo.
The art installation has been acquired by the Spanish collector Tatxo Benet, co-founder of the media group Mediapro. Silence by Franco-Algerian Zoulikha Bouabdellah is one of the first new additions to the permanent collection of the future Museu de l'Art Prohibit (Casa Garriga Nogués), opening on September 2023 and dedicated to major works that have been the subject of censorship, bans or pressure.
Silence will be presented alongside works by Antoni Tàpies, Abel Azcona, Ai Weiwei, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Robert Mapplethorpe as well as David Wojnarowicz, Andrés Serrano and Santiago Sierra.
February 21, 2023
