Gaston Chérau's Libyan War Archive Inspires Multidisciplinary Exhibition

The exhibition 'À fendre le cœur le plus dur' at the Centre photographique d’Île-de-France centers on an archive of over 200 photographs taken by French writer Gaston Chérau during the 1911-1912 Italo-Turkish War in Libya. Chérau, sent by the newspaper Le Matin, captured the hanging of fourteen Arabs accused of resistance. Historian Pierre Schill uncovered the archive and invited artists and writers to reinterpret it. Choreographer Emmanuel Eggermont created a solo 'Strange Fruit', documented in an installation by Élise Vandewalle. Writers Jérôme Ferrari and Oliver Rohe co-authored a book reflecting on the images. Artist Agnès Geoffray's work 'Les Regardeurs' confronts spectators of the hanging, while her 'Gisants' series extracts corpses onto fragile glass plates placed on the floor, aiming for 'reparation'. Other contemporary artists including Kader Attia, Rossella Biscotti, Alexis Cordesse, Lamia Joreige, Rabih Mroué, and Estefania Penafiel Loaiza contribute works addressing conflict through archives. Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin's 'Afterlife' (2009) uses photographs by Jahangir Razmi of the 1979 Iranian execution of eleven Kurds, creating collages that restore individuality to victims and executioners alike. The exhibition runs at the Centre photographique d’Île-de-France.