Catalogue published following the exhibition Practice Zero Tolerance
La criée centre d’art contemporain, Rennes (30 juin – 27 août 2006)
frac île-de-france, le plateau (14 septembre – 20 novembre 2006)
The first solo exhibition by Adel Abdessemed in a Parisian institution, “Practice Zero Tolerance” brings together a collection of recent works – including sculptures, videos, drawings and writings – that offer up a critical reading of our contemporary world. For the second, expanded part of an exhibition previously presented at la Criée in Rennes, Abdessemed intends to do away with le Plateau’s traditional exhibition structure to create an organic space whose plasticity, symbolized by the work “Dazibao”(2006), will be scattered amongst the various elements of his oeuvre.
Whether its purpose is to combat terrorism, to deter drug trafficking or to control juvenile delinquency, the practice of “zero tolerance” is often used as a tool of political propaganda. Abdicated by government leaders in both France and the United States, its veritable goal is take away the basic human rights protections of “the other”, pushing him towards a status of quasi-illegality and making him an enemy of society. By questioning these social grey areas while refusing to fall into the trappings of “social art”, Adel Abdessemed once again confirms that “a hygienic world without conflict is impossible.”
Edited by JRP RInger, Zurich
Co-edited by: frac île-de-france, Paris ; La criée, centre d’art contemporain, Rennes, 2007
Book – 212p., (ill. colors and b&w, ill. cov.), 16,5 x 23 cm
Distributed by Les Presses du Réel, Paris
Bilingual edition french – english
Translation: Judith Hayward, John Lee
Graphic design: Jean-Marc Ballée
ISBN : 978-3-905770-45-2