Massinissa Selmani's First Solo Exhibition in Algeria Opens at rhizome

Massinissa Selmani's first solo exhibition in Algeria, "1000 Villages," curated by Natasha Marie Llorens, opens at rhizome. The exhibition explores the 1970s Algerian government's "Agrarian Revolution" urban planning project that aimed to collectivize agriculture through 1000 socialist villages. Selmani's work, rooted in drawing, examines how contemporary history is constructed through anecdotal language, newspapers, poetry, and rumors. The centerpiece is a new installation, "That Which Dwells in Us" (2023), featuring drawings, archival photographs by Djaffar Lesbet, and audio interviews. Research for the project (2021-2023) involved conversations with architects, filmmakers, writers, and sociologists, including Fatma Oussedik. The exhibition also includes preparatory drawings from Selmani's 2015 Venice Biennial piece and recent works. Support came from the Royal Institute of Art Stockholm, AFAC, Institut Français d'Algérie, and Mon Autre École. A future iteration at Index Foundation in Stockholm in 2024 is supported by the Nordic Culture Fund's Globus Opstart program.