1. Zao Wou-Ki, 04.05.64, Oil on canvas, 1964, Paris, Centre Pompidou - Musée national d'art moderne, © ADAGP, Paris, © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. GrandPalais
A universal journey through art and displacement
The Louvre-Lens Museum invites visitors on a profound exploration of exile, its narratives, and its creative potential through "EXILES – Artist perspectives". Running from September 25, 2024, to January 20, 2025, this exhibition presents nearly 200 works that bridge ancient myths, historical contexts, and modern crises.
Curated by Dominique de Font-Réaulx, the exhibition delves into the shared human experience of displacement, loss, and reinvention, reframing exile as not only a condition of suffering but also a catalyst for cultural and artistic creation.
This in-depth investigation spans media, time periods, and perspectives, transforming the museum into a space for reflection, empathy, and storytelling. Through an innovative star-shaped scenography, the exhibition offers visitors a deeply immersive experience, encouraging both introspection and dialogue about this timeless theme.
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2. Edouard Manet, L'évasion de Rochefort, Musée d'Orsay, © Grand Palais Rmn (Musée d'Orsay), Franck Raux
Exile has shaped human history and culture across civilizations. Whether forced by political upheaval, war, or environmental crisis, displacement is both a deeply personal tragedy and a universal phenomenon.
The condition of exile challenges identity, uproots traditions, and forces individuals to navigate between loss and opportunity, past and present. For artists, exile often becomes a lens through which they reinterpret the world, creating works that bear the marks of longing, resilience, and transformation.
The show confronts the paradoxical nature of exile: How does displacement transform an artist’s identity and creative process? How do memories of a lost homeland shape the works produced in foreign lands? And how do these creations illuminate broader human truths about migration, belonging, and resilience? The exhibition addresses these questions by intertwining historical, literary, and artistic perspectives, from foundational myths to the lived experiences of today’s migrants.
A journey through time: exile in art
The exhibition unfolds across thematic chapters, tracing the narratives of exile from antiquity to the present day. Each section combines historical and contemporary works to show how exile transcends time and geography, remaining an enduring concern in human history.
The first chapter roots the theme of exile in foundational myths and religious texts. Works like "The Flood" by Antoine Carrache evoke the biblical story of Noah, while ancient artifacts such as the "Plaque Campana" depicting Ulysses and the Sirens underscore the timelessness of exile as a narrative of departure, survival, and transformation.
Mythology is paired with modern interpretations, such as Marco Godinho’s "Left to Their Own Fate (Odyssey)", a video artwork that reimagines Homer’s epic as a meditation on modern migration. Godinho’s brother casts pages of "The Odyssey" into the Mediterranean, symbolizing the fragile hope and despair of contemporary sea crossings.
The departure: loss and promise
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3. Marc Chagall, Esquisse pour Adam et Eve Chassés du paradis, 1961, © ADAGP, Paris 2024, © Grand Palais Rmn (Musée Marc Chagall) - Stéphane Maréchalle
Departure is one of exile’s defining moments—a painful rupture but also the beginning of transformation. Historical works like Marc Chagall’s "Adam and Eve Expelled from Paradise" echo this duality. The painting juxtaposes vivid colors with melancholic figures, capturing the loss of Eden while hinting at the resilience of those who leave.
Ford Madox Brown’s "The Last of England" offers a deeply personal view of 19th-century migration, depicting a family leaving their homeland for new opportunities abroad. Meanwhile, Nil Yalter’s multimedia installations document the lives of Turkish families in Paris, bridging personal histories with sociopolitical commentary.
The journey: sea as threshold
The sea emerges as a recurring motif in depictions of exile, representing both peril and possibility. Edouard Manet’s "The Escape of Rochefort" captures a fragile barque braving the waves, a visual metaphor for the uncertainty of journeys undertaken in search of freedom.
Contemporary works like Barthélémy Toguo’s "Exodus" and Kimsooja’s "Bottari Truck – Migrateurs" amplify this theme. Toguo’s sculpture, featuring a bicycle loaded with wax-cloth bundles, symbolizes the belongings of displaced individuals, evoking the struggles and hopes they carry. Kimsooja’s video installation documents her journey through Paris with traditional Korean cloth bundles ("bottari"), reimagining the city through the eyes of the displaced.
A community-driven exhibition
4. Exhibition view © Louvre Lens / Emmanuel Watteau
At the heart of the show is a collaborative project involving local residents, whose personal objects and stories enrich the exhibition’s narrative. Over a year, students from the École du Louvre worked with communities in Lens and its surrounding areas to collect items symbolizing migration and exile.
Objects on display range from a simple gold bracelet handed down through generations to calabashes from Benin and embroidered textiles from Ukraine. Each item carries profound emotional and historical weight, connecting the personal to the universal. Listening stations placed throughout the exhibition share the voices of the contributors, inviting visitors to immerse themselves in these intimate stories.
One striking example is a bracelet gifted by a Polish grandmother to her granddaughter before emigrating in 1929. On another note, contemporary works enter in dialogue with the collect, such as Taysir Batniji’s "Untitled (1998–2021)", an installation featuring a suitcase filled with sand from Gaza and France, embodying the tension between here and there, past and present.
Art as memory of resistance
5. Exhibition view © Louvre Lens / Emmanuel Watteau
At the same time, the exhibition emphasizes art’s power to resist and remember. Kader Attia’s "The Repair" juxtaposes mutilated World War I soldiers with repaired African artifacts, questioning the possibility of healing in the face of cultural and personal loss.
Victor Hugo’s "Marine Terrace", created during his exile in Guernsey, reminds us of art’s ability to transform personal pain into universal resonance. Similarly, Yan Pei-Ming’s "Aube Noire" channels the artist’s displacement into a haunting meditation on belonging.
A call for empathy
"Exiles - Artist perspectives" is more than an exhibition; it is a powerful meditation on what it means to leave, lose, and create anew. By weaving together personal stories, historical narratives, and contemporary reflections, the Louvre-Lens offers visitors an opportunity to see exile not just as a condition of displacement but as a shared human experience.
In today’s world, where migration continues to shape lives and societies, "Exiles" challenges us to reflect on our own connections to place, memory, and belonging. Through its sensitive curation and innovative approach, the exhibition serves as both a tribute to the resilience of the displaced and a call to embrace the diversity that exile brings to our collective cultural heritage.
Informations about the exhibition
Place: Louvre Lens
Date: 25.09.2024 - 20.01.2025
Curators: Dominique de Font-Réaulx
Ticket: Available online OR at the front desk of the museum
Informations about the Louvre Lens
99 rue Paul Bert
62 300 Lens
Phone: +33 (3) 21 18 62 62