Berirouche Feddal : Mon Bougainvillier est dans un sommeil profond: Opening Thursday April 25, from 6 to 8 PM
McBride Contemporain is pleased to present Mon Bougainvillier est dans un sommeil profond, a solo exhibition by transdisciplinary artist Berirouche Feddal. Feddal’s singular pictorial language, drawing on the visual poetry that permeates his works, is distinguished by a recognizable use of colour as a means of expression. The current exhibition pays tribute to pink, more specifically the warm hue evoked by bougainvillea leaves, a floral tree with deeply rooted symbolism in North African cultures.
The blossoming of the buds on the Bougainvillea tree marked the beginning of movements united by revolutionary hope in the spring of 2010. They also represent an acknowledgement of the martyr Mohamed Bouazizi, whose sacrifice was a catalyst for the resistance movement. Feddal’s richly referenced presentation, navigating between the poles of life and death, is intended as a tribute to human dignity and social justice. In the exhibition space, artworks in diverse mediums resonate with Feddal’s personal history and Kabyle heritage rooted in the land of contemporary Algeria. As a central piece, a reproduction of the artist's head appears to be plunged into a peaceful sleep, resting on a cushion once stroked by his paternal grandmother, echoing the fine line between sleep and ultimate rest.
The wood engravings recall the familiar hues of Feddal's previous body of work that features depictions of his immediate family as well as emblematic political figures and cultural iconography. Rooted in these significant figures, Feddal's creations expose the fragility of the material, the profound power of memory, and the relentless passage of time. Like a nostalgic reminder of Feddal's childhood, a faded Nouara pastry wrapper lies next to canvases evoking mortality, creating a scene that oscillates between dreamlike and funerary allegories. In this way, the colour becomes an emotional messenger, conveying a poetry that emanates from its delicacy.
Mon Bougainvillier est dans un sommeil profond offers an immersive experience of the union between past and present, exploring time as an agent of decay and transformation, shaping objects, colours, and their symbolism. This exhibition subtly captures the collective unconscious, exploring the concepts of time and memory while honouring the family heritage and political inspirations that have shaped Feddal's artistic practice.
Translation of a text by Alexandre Potvin
Berirouche Feddal, born in Algeria in 1996 of Kabyle origin, currently resides and works in Montreal. He graduated from the print and media department at Concordia University in 2020 and has since presented several solo and duo exhibitions, notably at the Maison des arts de Laval (2022), the Conseil des arts de Montréal (2022), Bradley Ertaskiran in Montreal (2022), Afternoon Projects in Vancouver (2022), and La Conserverie Marrakech in Morocco (2019). Feddal has also exhibited as part of the Off Biennale of Contemporary African Art in Dakar, Senegal (2022), and collaborated with Art Souterrain for a presentation on the exterior facades of Ubisoft in Montreal (2021). He participated in the 4th edition of the ARTCH festival - Emerging Contemporary Art in Montreal (2021). His work can be found in the collections of the Pointe-à-Callière Museum, TD Bank, Hydro-Québec, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, and Global Affairs Canada. Feddal will open a second solo exhibition at the Centre d'exposition L’Imagier Art Centre in Gatineau In May 2024.
