Alexis Cordesse: Talashi

January 17–April 6, 2024
Salah J. Bachir New Media Wall
Curator: Gaëlle Morel

Talashi (Arabic for fragmentation, erosion, disappearance) is a video composition made up of personal photographs entrusted to French artist Alexis Cordesse by refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war, ongoing since 2011. Cordesse’s long, patient process of amassing intimate snapshots of family celebrations and quotidian activities challenges the never-ending flood of tragic and violent images produced and widely disseminated by the mainstream media.

Events

Winter Exhibitions Opening Party
Tuesday, January 16, 2024 | 7:30–9:30 pm

Conversation: Alexis Cordesse and Jérémie Molho (CERC Migration and Integration)
Wednesday, January 17, 2024 | 6 pm

All events take place at The Image Centre (33 Gould St., Toronto), unless otherwise noted.

The artist gratefully acknowledges the support of the Centre national des arts plastiques (France). Public program supported by the Consulate General of France in Toronto and the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Fig. 1

Alexis Cordesse, Talashi (still), 2018–2021, multi-channel video © Alexis Cordesse

Artist Bio

Alexis Cordesse

A photojournalist until the mid-1990s, Alexis Cordesse (France, b. 1971) explores the relationship between photography and historical narratives by associating images with texts and sounds. His work has been shown at Documenta XI (Kassel, Germany, 2002), the International Center of Photography (New York, 2003), and the Nicéphore Niépce Museum (Chalon-sur-Saône, France, 2021). Permanent collections holding Cordesse’s work include the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Nicéphore Niépce Museum, and the Collection Neuflize OBC (France). Cordesse has been awarded the Lucien and Rodolf Hervé Prize (2010) and the Arcimboldo Prize (2011).

Installation Shots