Mehdi Djelil, also known as Bardi, considers the contemporary political and social upheaval in his home country through his large-scale works. His recent series of paintings is inspired by the...
Mehdi Djelil, also known as Bardi, considers the contemporary political and social upheaval in his home country through his large-scale works. His recent series of paintings is inspired by the Hirak Movement, large-scale protests in 2019 and 2020 demanding a change of Algeria’s military-led government and an end to the country’s clientelism and corruption. But the pandemic brought the public’s push for change to a halt amidst fears of a counter-revolution. Reflecting on these current tensions, Chaise I is a fantastical composition featuring a winged figure floating above a chair wearing a general’s cap. It is unclear whether he is launching from the seat or drifting towards it, mirroring the state of limbo in which the country finds itself. While the seat of power remains a place of transition, the future is yet undetermined.
Djelil graduated from the Superior School of Fine Arts of Algiers in 2011. He had his first solo exhibition, Unlimited, at Seen Art Gallery (2016) and has participated in exhibitions at the VI Mediterranean Art Meeting of Alicante, Spain (2019) and Waypoint Algeria, Stockholm (2019). Most recently, Mehdi’s work was presented in the exhibition Waiting for Omar Gatlato at Wallach Art Gallery, New York (2019). He has also exhibited internationally in fairs and biennials, including the 6th Biennale of Art, Tunis (2010) and the Algerian Cultural Week in Moscow (2010).