Can we become one with memory? Jeannette Ehlers takes over the Bicolore space, here at the Maison du Denmark on the Champs-Elysées, around a moving exhibition. At the crossroads of his Trinidadian and Danish roots, the artist invites us on an introspective and mixed journey, exploring the colonial history of the Caribbean in a vibrant homage to the legacies of the African diaspora. Here we enter a setting covered in gold, captivating. Gold, this unalterable metal, undoubtedly the most precious, here that of survival blankets. In his works, Ehlers puts himself on stage, physically embodying this colonial suffering, here performing a choreography of infinite grace, free and liberated, yet chained by the braids of his hair to the overwhelming structures of a barn. A masterful tribute to Pearl Primus, in which the “hairs” of history mingle with the alienating ties of colonialism. From revolt to the intimate, Ehlers reverses the roles with this disturbing installation, placing scenes of insurrection from around the world, broadcast in a loop on smartphones, at the heart of a sacred altar celebrating time, that of transmission, of femininity, of resistance. Let us look down, on the ground the outlines of a familiar face can be seen, that of the Brazilian icon Escrava Anastacia, a freed slave punished with an iron mask. Here becomes coal under the artist's gesture, combustible and volatile, thus taking memory on the wrong foot. Jeannette Ehlers fits together her works like the pieces of a puzzle of identity and resilience, leading us to this striking video, taking up the artistic codes of action painting... but with great force... A powerful work and silent which reminds us that history has not passed, inviting us to listen to the echoes of tomorrow which already resonate within us.

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More information on the exhibition here.