Kader Attia's 'Irreparáveis Reparos' at Sesc Pompeia Resonates with Pandemic-Era Grief and Colonial Legacies

On November 14, a visit to Sesc Pompeia in São Paulo marked a return to art exhibitions after eight months of strict confinement. The venue, designed by Lina Bo Bardi, hosted two shows: 'Farsa. Língua, Fratura, Ficção: Brasil–Portugal' and 'Kader Attia – Irreparáveis Reparos'. Pandemic protocols included limited visitor numbers, mandatory pre-booking, and temperature checks. The Franco-Algerian artist Kader Attia's exhibition, curated by Carolin Köchling, proved particularly resonant. Its focus on repair, colonial legacies in Africa, and the resignification of violent objects aligned with contemporary anxieties. Works like the video 'Mimeses como resistência', where birds mimic chainsaw sounds, and installations with charred wooden masks referencing the 2018 Museu Nacional fire in Rio de Janeiro, created post-apocalyptic environments. The video 'Refletindo a memória' (2016) addressed phantom limb syndrome, offering a metaphor for collective grief amid over 1.5 million COVID-19 deaths. In contrast, 'Farsa', curated by Marta Mestre and Pollyana Quintella, featured over 100 works by 68 artists exploring language limits between Brazil and Portugal. Its interactive elements and shared headphones were deemed problematic under new hygiene concerns. The spacious architecture of Sesc Pompeia provided a sense of safety, making Attia's concise, thematically urgent show feel more potent than the encyclopedic 'Farsa' in the current context.