Kader Attia – Untitled (Ghardaïa) (2009),
cooked couscous,
edition of 3 + 1 AP. Courtesy Tate Modern, London.
In anticipation of its 10th anniversary later this year, London’s Tate Modern has announced a list of new acquisitions since 2009 that reflect the museum’s commitment to expanding its representation of international modern and contemporary art. The list includes 13 works by artists from North Africa and the Middle East, eight from South America, six from the Asia Pacific and 14 from South Africa.
The new acquisitions are headlined by French-Algerian artist Kader Attia’s installation (Untitled) Ghardaïa (2009), in which cooked couscous is used to create a scale model of the titular Algerian city. Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its distinctive medieval-period architecture, the city served as inspiration for European Modernist architects including Le Corbusier and Fernand Pouillon, whose photos are incorporated into the installation.
Works from the Asia Pacific region include Korean mixed-media artist Do Ho Suh’s Staircase III (2009), Indian conceptual sculptor Subodh Gupta’s Everyday (2009) and Chinese media artist Yang Fudong’s installation East of Que Village (2007). Pak Sheung Chen’s installation A Travel Without Visual Experience (2008) was featured in the Hong Kong Pavilion at the 2009 Venice Biennale. Also notable are Allora & Calzadilla’s Balance of Power (2007) and Libertador Avenue (2006), Nelson Leirner’s Homage to Fontana II and Felix Gonzalez-Torres’ Untitled (Double Portrait) (1991).