Fighting in exile. Artists and France 1939-1945

WRITTEN IN FRENCH

What does exile do to creation? Does it make it impossible, more fruitful, singular? What are the links between creation and the feeling of exile, forced, chosen or felt by the artist away from the life of his time and his contemporaries? Is exile an inevitable, necessary condition for creation? What happens when two or more cultures meet?

To try to answer these questions, the catalogue, in the wake of the exhibition, brings together artists from all eras and from all over the world, between the fifth century BC and today. Their works, whether sculptures (Honoré Daumier, Myriam Mihindou, Jems Koko), paintings (Gustave Courbet, Djamel Tatah, Yan Pei-Ming), drawings (Jacques-Louis David, Henri Michaux), objects (SOS Méditerranée, LesvosSolidarity), photographs (Bruno Serralongue, Laura Henno, Mathieu Pernot), films (Marco Godinho, Steve McQueen) or installations (Kader Attia, Barthélémy Toguo, Nil Yalter) tell the story of the multiple motivations, symbolic or real, that push people to leave their native land. A historical and universal dimension emerges, demonstrating that exile corresponds to human destiny.
The subject of borders, with camps and no man's lands, such as the Calais Jungle, is dealt with, as is the question of reception, seen as an opportunity to revitalize cultures.

Five essays, supplemented by notes on works and excerpts from literary works or contemporary testimonies, delve deeper into these themes with the intention of bringing to them not a didactic commentary but a lucid and sensitive look.

Exhibition at the Louvre-Lens from 25 September 2024 to 20 January 2025

French
304 pages / 200 illustrations

Co-publishing GrandPalaisRmnÉditions /Louvre-Lens