Les Concessions

By including their likenesses in an installation – Les Concessions – Boltanski created a memorial to individuals who died in anonymity. Yet the first thing the viewer sees are black fabric rectangles, hung on the wall in a rigid pattern that evokes the organising principles of minimalism. Air currents created by a ceiling fan lightly stir the bits of cloth, revealing that something is hidden behind them. Now and then, it is possible to catch a glimpse of the numerous enlarged photos. But to examine them closely, you have to lift the fabric obscuring each one, revealing a series of shocking images of violent crimes taken from the Spanish tabloid newspaper El Caso. 

Some visitors will avert their eyes in revulsion. This is precisely what Boltanski intended, as his art is not meant for casual consumption. He wanted his work to speak directly to our emotions. And here, as he so often did, he makes us complicit by enticing us to action – making the potential shock that much more intense. Every visitor can make their own considered decision as to how much they wish to engage with the compelling images. 

The photos inevitably conjure associations with images of Holocaust survivors. In light of Boltanski’s Jewish heritage, his work is often interpreted as documenting his own background – yet the artist resisted such straightforward interpretations. For him, death is a timeless theme which is not linked to any particular historical event. The photographs convey no judgement about their subjects. They reveal little about the people they portray, leaving it up to the viewer to draw conclusions about the characters and life stories behind the portraits.

While black is the colour of mourning, in Les Concessions, it is first and foremost the colour of being forgotten. In lifting the cloth, we are – as it were – retrieving the anonymous dead from the black hole of oblivion, only to cover them up again in an act of compassion.