PRIVAATT - Alaam
The collapse of regimes leaves its mark on our collective memory. Images of defeated dictators, totally vulnerable, have left an indelible imprint on our retinas. Benito Mussolini hanged by his feet, Muammar Gaddafi on his knees, Saddam Hussein haggard... With the same aim of annihilating the monstrous power of these tyrants, Egyptian artist Aalam has chosen to hijack photographs of these men from collections (public or private) or the media.
What the subjects have in common is that they seem to forget themselves for a moment, breaking with the canons of their official propaganda? Idi Amin Dada in a swimming pool, Adolf Hitler prostrate, staring at the ceiling, Kim Jong-un staring at his plate. Hence the artist's manipulation? Aalam's manipulation: an incongruous association with other clichés to create surprising, entertaining and even ridiculous fictitious moments, all the more so as they are completed by a caption and copyright rewritten by Aalam.
The title of the series "Privaatt" means "Private" in the language of an imaginary totalitarian state, and this book brings together this collection of illusions.
To be published on 12.01.2024 by Editions Imogènes,
24.6 cm × 30.7 cm × 1.1 cm, 80 pages, mint condition
ISBN 978-2-900840-17-7-
The collapse of regimes leaves its mark on our collective memory. Images of defeated dictators, totally vulnerable, have left an indelible imprint on our retinas. Benito Mussolini hanged by his feet, Muammar Gaddafi on his knees, Saddam Hussein haggard... With the same aim of annihilating the monstrous power of these tyrants, Egyptian artist Aalam has chosen to hijack photographs of these men from collections (public or private) or the media.
What the subjects have in common is that they seem to forget themselves for a moment, breaking with the canons of their official propaganda? Idi Amin Dada in a swimming pool, Adolf Hitler prostrate, staring at the ceiling, Kim Jong-un staring at his plate. Hence the artist's manipulation? Aalam's manipulation: an incongruous association with other clichés to create surprising, entertaining and even ridiculous fictitious moments, all the more so as they are completed by a caption and copyright rewritten by Aalam.
The title of the series "Privaatt" means "Private" in the language of an imaginary totalitarian state, and this book brings together this collection of illusions.
To be published on 12.01.2024 by Editions Imogènes,
24.6 cm × 30.7 cm × 1.1 cm, 80 pages, mint condition
ISBN 978-2-900840-17-7-
The collapse of regimes leaves its mark on our collective memory. Images of defeated dictators, totally vulnerable, have left an indelible imprint on our retinas. Benito Mussolini hanged by his feet, Muammar Gaddafi on his knees, Saddam Hussein haggard... With the same aim of annihilating the monstrous power of these tyrants, Egyptian artist Aalam has chosen to hijack photographs of these men from collections (public or private) or the media.
What the subjects have in common is that they seem to forget themselves for a moment, breaking with the canons of their official propaganda? Idi Amin Dada in a swimming pool, Adolf Hitler prostrate, staring at the ceiling, Kim Jong-un staring at his plate. Hence the artist's manipulation? Aalam's manipulation: an incongruous association with other clichés to create surprising, entertaining and even ridiculous fictitious moments, all the more so as they are completed by a caption and copyright rewritten by Aalam.
The title of the series "Privaatt" means "Private" in the language of an imaginary totalitarian state, and this book brings together this collection of illusions.
To be published on 12.01.2024 by Editions Imogènes,
24.6 cm × 30.7 cm × 1.1 cm, 80 pages, mint condition
ISBN 978-2-900840-17-7-