COMMISSION EUROPEENNE - 9 June 2022
Fab RIDETI
EXHIBITION ON THE 2nd AND 3rd FLOOR
“NAPHTA TRIBES”, FAB RIDETI
THE SEA IS THE FUTURE OF THE EARTH
ELISABETH MARTIN - Inauguration 9 June 2022
The series “Naphta Tribes” responds to an ecological reflection on our planet and on the need to protect oceans and seas from the degradation they are suffering. The seas provide half of our oxygen, food for a billion people. We must preserve them to ensure that they continue sustaining us in the future. When Fab Rideti imagines these Tribes, the evocation of paradisiacal panoramas and the touch of humour are only a roundabout way to address important issues and challenges that our society is facing.
She takes a critical look at our world and plays with the fine line between imaginary and reality, present and future. Through her lens, she creates powerful images rich of details. Characters from different origin dressed in plastic waste from the oceans or objects found on beaches remind us that intensified efforts must be made. Born in France, Fab Rideti spent a few years in Seattle, before moving to Brussels. Inspired by the ethnologist and well-known photographer Edward Curtis (1868-1952) who immortalised the last Native American, Fab Rideti photographs “the last representatives of our civilisation”, the founders of the 7th continent, like derisory warriors. When plastic prevailed, before the world changed, before ecological awareness made these portraits inconceivable. The photos are taken in the beautiful island of Corsica, end of the afternoon when the light is at its best.
Fab Rideti is one of the artists selected by the Festival of the New European Bauhaus. The core activities of the Festival will take place in Brussels from 9 to 12 June, with side events across the EU and beyond with these main themes: beauty, sustainability and inclusiveness. It will feature debates, artistic performances, exhibitions and networking platform aiming to build connections and bridging the worlds of research, science and technology, to those of education and civil engagement, and of art, culture and architecture.
Fab Rideti was also a finalist for the 18th Open Photography Prize of the Charleroi Museum of Photography in 2021. She collaborates with the Tara Ocean Foundation donating part of the profits of her work to this organisation.
Courtesy of Frédérick Mouraux Gallery in Brussels
Exhibition: May 17 - June 29, 2022