garden of memory

This exhibition has been conceived as a conversation between three artists: Etel Adnan, Simone Fattal and Robert Wilson. It was inspired by their shared experiences, whether in Morocco, Lebanon, California or Paris. Etel Adnan and Simone Fattal spent their lives between Beirut, Sausalito (California) and Paris. Both artists visited Morocco numerous times in the 1970s and 1980s, and contributed considerably to the artistic scene of the country. Etel Adnan and Robert Wilson became friends in 1972 before working together. Etel Adnan wrote the French text for Robert Wilson’s legendary 1984 opera The CIVIL warS. The close friendship between Pierre Bergé and Robert Wilson, as well as their shared vision, led to the creation of many important works by the stage director.

The exhibition is based on a succession of these shared memories and experiences. Garden of Memory reveals itself as a non-linear narrative, a mental landscape, a choreography combining poetry, sound and sculpture. The thrust behind it all is a poem by Etel Adnan, “Conversation with my soul (III),” read by Robert Wilson over music by Michael Galasso. In turn, Simone Fattal responds to the poem by manifesting the profound coherence between the various creative elements. Her sculptures — stelae, figures and angels – discretely exalt the capacity for listening and perceiving.