Lot
10
La FIFA nous avait suspendus
Woodcut, metallic leaf, and oil pastel, 2022
73.66 x 50.8 cm
Estimate
$2 450
I wondered about Algerians’ behaviour during and after soccer games. I wanted to understand the intersection of their patriotism and their nationalism through sport. My research on Algeria’s independence is closely linked to soccer. During the attacks by the Front de libération nationale on April 13, 1958, nine Algerian members of the French soccer team left France to join the FLN and create the team that we know today. This secret team, banned by FIFA, served until 1962 (the year of independence) as representatives of the Algerian provisional government. They were received in North Vietnam by President Ho Chi Minh and met Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in Beijing. The Algerian FLN soccer players played in ex-Yugoslavia, ex-Czechoslovakia, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Vietnam, ex-East Germany, and China.
Biographical note
Berirouche Feddal (Vrirouc nat uqassi ) is a Montreal artist known for his transdisciplinary approach. Originally from the mountainous Kabylia region of what is now Algeria, he is affiliated with the Igawawen tribe of the Nath Irathen arc and the Amazigh heritage. He obtained a bachelor’s degree with distinction in print media from Concordia University in 2020. His work has been presented at Bradley Ertaskiran (Montréal), the Biennale Dak’Art OFF (Dakar) in collaboration with Centre Clark, Afternoon Projects (Vancouver), ARTCH-Emerging Contemporary Art (Montreal), Ubisoft (Montreal), Mayten’s Project (Toronto), and the Conserverie Marrakech (Marrakesh).
Refusing to abdicate his culture, language, and identity, Feddal exploits subjects related to his person and his memory, a combination of discoveries, anecdotes, and sometimes revolt. Tracing back his Amazigh African origins through a collection of biographical photographs, he blends past and present in a body of work that may be understood as split self-portraits evoking the fragility of memories and the marks left by past experiences.