Kader Attia Continuum of Repair: The Light of Jacob's Ladder

In BOZAR Centre for Fine Arts Brussels French-Algerian artist Kader Attia presents a work with which he reflects on the tension between religion and science in man's endless quest for total knowledge, using the biblical story of Jacob's ladder as his starting premise. In his dream the patriarch Jacob sees angels ascending the ladder that connects earth with heaven. The artwork is a towering structure, a library that fills the space from floor to ceiling. At the centre of the library is a cabinet of curiosities filled with rare artefacts, scientific instruments and books by authors such as the philosopher Descartes and the biologist Alfred Russel Wallace. There is a small staircase near the cabinet. If you look up at the mirrored ceiling you suddenly see the rungs of the ladder and find yourself in an infinity reflection of the library of accumulated human knowledge and science. This installation is the latest chapter in Attia’s research into the concept of “repair”, the underlying principle of development and evolution in culture and nature. Continuum of Repair: The Light of Jacob's Ladder (2013) was commissioned by the Whitechapel Gallery, London, and was exhibited in its premises from 26 November 2013 to 23 November 2014. BOZAR Centre for Fine Arts 23 Ravensteinstraat 1000 Brussels Belgium Free admission www.bozar.be