Eric Baudelaire — The Secession Sessions — Bétonsalon - Centre d'art et de recherche — Exhibition — Slash Paris

Past: January 9 → March 8, 2014

“Abkhazia is something of a paradox: a country that exists, in the physical sense of the word (a territory with borders, a government, a flag and a language), yet it has no legal existence because for almost twenty years it was not recognized by any other nation state. And so Abkhazia exists without existing, caught in a liminal space, a space in between realities. Which is why my letter to Max was something of a message in a bottle thrown at sea."

Eric Baudelaire

The Secession Sessions is conceived as a series of invitations, initiated by French artist Eric Baudelaire, to investigate the question of statehood through the prism of the stateless state of Abkhazia. The exhibition is composed of various elements: regular public office hours at the Anembassy of Abkhazia created at Bétonsalon for the duration of the exhibition, and staffed by Maxim Gvinjia, former Foreign Minister of Abkhazia; daily screenings of a new film by Eric Baudelaire titled Lost Letters to Max; and a program of talks, public events and classes with scholars and artists from various backgrounds, exploring the issues at stake in The Secession Sessions.

This exhibition is a coproduction of: Bétonsalon — Centre d’art et de recherche Bergen Kunsthall / 17.01 — 16.02 2014 Argos, Centre for Art and Media / 2015 UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA) / 04-22.02 2015.

In partnership with Kadist Art Foundation Lost Letters to Max has received support from the Image/Movement grant from Centre national des arts plastiques.