Latifa Echakhch's everyday revolution À chaque stencil une révolution
On ne revendiquera rien, on ne demandera rien. On prendra, on occupera
We will claim nothing, we will ask for nothing. We will take, we will occupy
Odéon Theatre
Oubliez tout ce que vous avez appris. Commencez par rêver
Forget everything you’ve been taught. Start by dreaming
The Sorbonne
Sous les pavés, la plage
Beneath the paving stones, the beach
The Sorbonne
With this minimalist, yet visually powerful installation, Latifa Echakhch pays homage to the revolutionary spirit of the 1960s, when stencils and duplicating machines were used to print leaflets and messages of protest and revolution. Echakhch lines the walls with sheets of this dark-blue stencil paper before applying an alcohol spray, altering the texture of the material and staining the floor with drips. The title quotes Yasser Arafat, first president of the Palestinian National Authority and champion of peace in the Middle East, when referring to the French May ’68 strikes and to the protests against the Vietnam War: ‘For each stencil a revolution.’ As in other works, the artist takes everyday elements and objects related to popular forms of political expression in which we can recognise ourselves: this is part of her strength.
