Kader Attia: Big Bang

June 2 - October 6, 2007

Curator: Tami Katz-Freiman

This work is a smaller version of an installation that was originally created for the interior courtyard of the Jewish Museum in Paris. Attia distilled the symbols of Judaism and Islam - the Star of David and the crescent - into a charged image: these intertwined elements form a large, tantalizing ball that alternately resembles an enormous disco ball or a meteorite threatening the Earth. One may read this work as an expression of a longing for reconciliation between two hostile religions. Its title, however, points towards a more layered reading: it alludes to the scientific theory of the Big Bang, which contradicts mythological and religious narratives of creation. The religious symbols characterize the identity conflict embodied in Attia's works, and their compulsive recurrence presents them as signs that have long been orphaned of meaning. This work represents Attia's ongoing concern with the tension between religious traditions and secular images that stand for hedonism and consumerism. 

This work is exhibited as part of the exhibition

"Kader Atia: Who Cares?"