Kader Attia’s work is globally recognized for their investigative approach to complex themes.  RepairReborn will be displayed to the public from October 24th/ 2024  to February 9th/ 2025 and it reveals how Attia employs a wide range of techniques to explore his profound research on the concept of repair. 

Through videos, installations, sculptures, collages, and photography, the exhibition presents the artist's various approaches to the different types of possible reparations for the traumas of modern post-colonial societies. The exhibition aims to create a dialogue around the historical collective traumas of Colombian society, addressing the concept of repair through creation and transformation.

Born in France in 1970, Kader Attia grew up between Paris and Algeria. He currently lives and works between Paris and Berlin. Before pursuing higher education, he spent time in Congo and South America. His time in these regions, marked by a colonial history and a multi-ethnic reality, inspired him to analyze the effects of historical and cultural traumas. 

Therefore, Attia’s work demonstrates his commitment to creating spaces for dialogue where historical traumas, which leave physical or mental scars on populations, can be addressed. Particularly, this exhibition at MAMBO is a manifesto of his deep interests in the concepts of wounds—both physical and symbolic—and repair. 

He distances himself from the Western "myth of perfection," which seeks to erase scars and the marks of time, instead giving them visibility and importance as symbols of resilience and the capacity to confront trauma. In his vision, the wound is not a sign of weakness, but an inherent part of the repair process, highlighting the importance of recognizing damage and its traces as key elements of healing and transformation. 

RepairReborn presents the wide range of artistic languages in Attia’s work, emphasizing his versatility and the depth of his research. Through his works, the exhibition illustrates how art can be a tool for repairing historical, personal, physical, and mental wounds. The healing power of art is a central feature of his work and one of the key elements that creates a safe space for dialogue. Attia explores how creative processes can contribute to the repair of both individual and collective wounds and traumas. 

For the creation of « On Silence » (2021) in Colombia, the artist insisted that the piece be made using previously used prosthetic limbs. This choice takes on special significance in the context of Colombia’s history and the statistics that position the country as the second-most affected by landmine victims, a legacy of its internal conflict. The work thus gains a deep dimension that encompasses memory, trauma, and the inheritance of a complex past. It stands as a testament to the healing power of art and becomes an authentic manifesto of Attia’s practice, as reflected in the title of this exhibition: RepairReborn. 

Learn more about the exhibition 

In 2016, he founded La Colonie, a space for dialogues on decolonization and for the ongoing dissemination of diverse forms of knowledge. His work is internationally recognized for its investigative approach to the theme of repair. 

Kader Attia's work has been featured in group exhibitions and biennials such as the 15th Sharjah Biennial, the 12th Gwangju Biennial, the 12th Shanghai Biennial, the 12th Manifesta in Palermo, the 57th Venice Biennale, dOCUMENTA(13) in Kassel, Met Breuer in New York, Kunsthalle Vienna, MoMA New York, Tate Modern in London, Centre Pompidou in Paris, and The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. 

Among his solo exhibitions are those held at MATHAF, Doha; Kunsthaus Zürich; Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley; The Hayward Gallery, London; Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona; MacVal in Vitry-sur-Seine; The Power Plant, Toronto; Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; SMAK, Ghent; Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt; Musée Cantonal des Beaux Arts in Lausanne; Beirut Art Center; Whitechapel Gallery, London; and KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, among others.