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Plaster and steel
160h x 117w x 100d cm
Detail
In Ismaël, Chamekh explicitly alludes to a visual depiction of structural violence and brutality by referencing images of a sub-
Saharan African refugee’s arrest amidst his deportation. Racial discrimination has not abated and violence against migrants
continues to mount; hence, the sculpture nods to unfolding conversations on colonization, domination and race politics. Aligning
with the artist’s second line of research into the exile and displacement of African communities, Chamekh frames the
fragmentation of the detainee’s cuffed meagre forearms, although the rest of the body remains shackled and tethered.