Alexis Peskine, Guillaume Bresson, and Adel Abdessemed as sculptors of history: a study of visual arts inspired by the riots of 2005 in France

What do the visual arts tell us about historical events happening in our societies? In this article, we will examine the case of the French riots of 2005. While anthropology, media, and cultural studies have investigated visual forms such as video games, YouTube videos, and graffiti that address the riots, there has been a blind spot in the study of the representation of the riots in the fine arts, such as painting and sculpture. This study will thereby identify and analyze the art works of three contemporary francophone, and transnationally recognized artists who visually represented the riots of 2005. Indeed, the art pieces by Alexis Peskine (La France “des” Français), Guillaume Bresson (Untitled), and Adel Abdessemed (Practice Zero Tolerance) could not be more different esthetically speaking. Peskine’s colorful painting offers a postcolonial reading of the riot, deconstructing stereotypes associated with race that the riot reinforced. Bresson’s imposing neoclassical painting stages the choreography of agitated rioters. Abdessemed comments on the violence provoked by the governmental management of the riots with a sculpture installation showing three burnt cars. Despite these differences, the three artists’ approaches indubitably converge insofar as they first react to the constant play between images of power and the power of images. In addition, this observation involves an intervention into the discourse and imaginative processes that are currently shaping the narrative and interpretation of the riots. In this sense, Peskine, Bresson, and Abdessemed operate as sculptors of history.