Massinissa Selmani, 1000 Villages at rhizome gallery in Algiers

The Index team spent time in Algiers at the start of December 2023, undertaking a research trip in connection with the opening and public program for Massinissa Selmani’s exhibition “1000 Villages” at rhizome, curated by Natasha Marie Llorens.

In September 2024 a second version of the exhibition “1000 Villages” will be presented at Index – The Swedish Contemporary Art Foundation, accompanied by a public program exploring different manifestations of socialism in architecture and urban planning.

From the press release:

“Massinissa Selmani’s work is fundamentally concerned with the structure of contemporary history, or how people make sense of the events they are living through. The artist’s aesthetic process is elliptical, yet rigorous: he sifts through anecdotal language, faded, and idiosyncratically categorized newspapers, poetry, philosophy, and rumors.

Selmani is an artist who draws: the medium’s modesty mirrors his dedication to the experience of those who stand outside the grand narratives of history, or adjacent to the centers of power. Nevertheless, he conceives of drawing in ambitious terms. In Selmani’s graphic universe, drawing takes on both temporal and architectural dimensions.

His first solo exhibition in Algeria, “1000 Villages” presents a new installation by Selmani, That which dwells in us, 2023. The new work extends a project by Selmani from 2015, and both are centered on an Algerian urban planning project in the 1970s entitled the “1000 Socialist Villages”. Preparatory drawings from 1000 Villages, 2015, and recent drawings situate both versions of the project in the context of Selmani’s broader drawing practice, introducing viewers to his playful, fragmentary graphic universe.

Supported throughout its development by rhizome, the research phase of this project (2021-2023) was funded through a grant for artistic research from the Royal Institute of Art Stockholm and the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture – AFAC through a project grant in the visual arts. Additional support is provided by the Institut Français d’Algérie, and Mon Autre École. Support for an evolution of 1000 Villages at Index Foundation in Stockholm in 2024 is provided by Index and the the Nordic Culture Fund’s Globus Opstart program.”

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Massinissa Selmani was born in 1980 in Algiers and lives and works in Tours and Tizi-Ouzou. Drawing is the central medium of Selmani’s practice. His work depicts grave themes that are nevertheless buoyed by humor and infused with a delicate absurdity. Drawing from photographs and other images in print media, Selmani produces short, ludic animations, enigmatic sculptures, and installations composed with framed and unframed drawings. In 2023, Massinissa Selmani was nominated for the Marcel Duchamp Prize. In 2015, he received a special mention at the 56th Venice Biennale, curated by Okwui Onwezor. He won the Art Collector Prize (France) and the SAM Art Projects Prize for Contemporary Art (France) in 2016. Selected solo and group exhibitions include the 56th Venice Biennale; Palais de Tokyo, Paris ; Sharjah Biennial 13; Modern Art Oxford, Oxford, UK; IVAM Valencia, Spain ; Zachęta National Gallery, Warsaw; the 13th Biennale de Lyon, France ; Centre de Création Contemporaine Olivier Debré (CCC OD) of Tours, France; Museum of African Art, Belgrade, Serbia ; 11th Dakar Biennial, Senegal; UGM Maribor, Slovenia; Kochi – Muziris Biennale 22-23, India, among others. Collections include the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France; MAC Lyon, France; Samdani Art Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Frac Centre Val de Loire, France; Centre National des Arts Plastiques (CNAP), France and the British Museum, London, UK.

Visit Massinissa Selmani’s website here.

Rhizome is a contemporary art gallery based in Algiers. Operating as both a commercial gallery and an independent art organization, Rhizome works on promoting emerging contemporary artists, with a focus on art from Algeria and its diaspora. By collaborating with artists, Rhizome works closely in accordance with individual approaches and practices to support the realization of extraordinary work. Rhizome strives to develop its artist roster to include emerging talents and established artists. This forms a diverse community to exchange various perspectives, closing a generational gap and fostering mutual learning.

Follow rhizome’s program here.