The fifth issue of the editorial discursive space for the Bergen Assembly triennial, conceived by Saâdane Afif, is dedicated to the figure of the tourist.
The fifth issue of Side Magazine accompanies the Tourist on their quest for souvenirs. While being accused of fuelling superficial consumerism, the Tourist follows their sincere desire to find meaning, placing themself, all senses hyperalert, in unusual situations to capture memories. Abdelmajid Arrif takes us to a "Territory of Misunderstandings," Marrakech's famous Jemaa el-Fna square; Saint Augustine analyses the governing mechanisms of his own memories in his Confessions, written towards the end of the fourth century; Daniel Buren's text from 1988, which relates to his Photo-Souvenirs series, reminds us of the difference between the photograph of a work and the work itself; Maggie Popkin reflects on the phenomenon of souvenirs; Xavier de Maistre's voyage around his room from 1794, written during his house arrest in Turin, is interwoven with photographs by the artist Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster; and Moses März refers to Edouard Glissant's Poetics of Relation to explore the issues of borders, migration, and political communities in contemporary Germany. Finally, Ida Lødemel Tvedt reflects on her relationship to her hometown through the lens of Ragnar Kjartansson's monumental sculpture which no traveler arriving by plane can miss, asking: BERGEN? Side Magazine is released in the run up to the opening of Bergen Assembly 2022, each dedicated to one of seven enigmatic characters. These characters will lend their names to seven exhibitions from September 8th to November 6th, 2022. A special eighth issue also will be published.
Saâdane Afif was born 1970 in Vendôme, France. Exhibitions include The Fountain Archives and Beyond…, Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona, Spain (2021); This is Ornamental, Kunsthalle Wien Karlsplatz, Austria (2018); Paroles, Wiels Brussels, Belgium (2018); The Fountain Archives, Foundation Jumex, Mexico, Nouveau Musée National de Monaco, Monaco, and Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (2017 and 2019), and Anthologie de l'Humour Noir, Museum für Moderne Kunst – MMK Zollamt, Frankfurt, and Centre Pompidou, Paris (2010 and 2013).
His work was included in documenta 12 (2007), 8th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art (2014), Marrakech Biennale 2014 (2014), 56th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale (2015), 1st and 6th Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art (2005, 2015) and Taipei Biennial (2016).
Saâdane Afif received the Prix International d'Art Contemporain de la Fondation Prince Pierre de Monaco (2006), Prix Marcel Duchamp (2009), Preis der Günther-Peill-Stiftung (2012) and the Prix Meurice pour l'art contemporain (2015).
He is the Convener des Bergen Assembly 2022: Yasmine and the Seven Faces of the Heptahedron.
Edited by Saâdane Afif and Yasmine d'O.
Texts by Anna Auch, Yasmine d'O., Abdelmajid Arrif, Saint Augustine, Daniel Buren, Maggie Popkin, Moses März, Ida Lødemel Tvedt.
