Born in 1982, Berredjem studied at the Algiers Fine Arts Academy. His practice, which spans photography, video and performance, explores tensions that emerge between tradition and modernization as societies evolve and develop.
Previously an artist in residence at London’s Delfina Foundation in 2011, his research questions the collective evolution of our societies, exploring “the notion of transition” through which the artist reveals our activities: the spectator is invited to witness the movement between, or the act of movement between, one situation or state to another.
Atef is particularly interested in the sociopolitical transition undergone by his native Algeria, and by the new forms of social violence that have emerged as a consequence of mass consumption, particularly technological consumption.
The other central component of Berredjem’s practice is transport, perfectly reflecting what he describes as the fleeting or transitory phenomenon. In Jughurta on the train, he set up studio on a train and proceeded to make 65 return journeys. In this ambitious photographic project, he recorded the conversations that he had with other passengers.
Open to collaborative and participatory artistic experiences, Berredjem has shown work in Europe, Africa and North America. His next project will be featured at Art Dubai for Contemporary 2017 in collaboration with the Algerian gallery Al Marhoon.
Held in high esteem by international curators, Berredjem’s work will feature in three forthcoming exhibitions of Arab photography: the first at Mama in Algiers, then at Paris’s Cite des Arts in September and at the Friche La Belle de Mai in Marseilles in December, where he will present his work on the Algiers tram system.
Atef's studio
FLN (2015) — Installation / 8 double neon lamps with cables
Atef in his studio
God says Ikraà (2013) — Installation / 4 monitors, synchronized video/sound loop, 7 mn
Could not it all from the project Like never before (open project since 2015) — installation video in dark room © Atef Berredjem — photo: Atef Berredjem
This article is part of the series: One artist, one studio — Part 1. All related articles can be found here.
