Artist: Than Hussein Clark
Exhibition title: A Little Night Music (And Reversals)
Curated by: Marie de Brugerolle
Venue: CRAC Occitanie, Sète, France
Date: October 10, 2020 – May 24, 2021
Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and CRAC Occitanie, Sète
As an artist, designer, scenographer, writer, poet and actor, Than Hussein Clark creates work that brings theatricality into various contexts. A graduate of the University of Edinburgh, Goldsmiths College in London and the University of Fine Arts of Hamburg, Than Hussein Clark has to his credit around twenty theatrical plays and just as many exhibitions. He endeavours to explore that which eludes the dominant culture, whether through architecture, the decorative arts, or theatre. He decompartmentalises genres, canons and know-how while enlisting a variety of techniques: rug weaving, wood sculpting, resin, metal. A screen becomes a landscape, a window a painting, a coat a sculpture. By intensifying styles to the point of rendering them “decadent”, he reminds us that glamour is a deformation of the grammar of forms. Equally active both in the theatrical field and on exhibition sites, Than Hussein Clark shifts boundaries and transforms the uses of objects and places.
For him, every new project is a chance to develop research on art figures who have remained on the margins of grand history. For the exhibition at the CRAC, he takes inspiration from Tangier and from the cosmopolitan art scene that injected life into that city throughout the 20th century (William S. Burroughs, Jean Genet, Paul Bowles, Yves Saint Laurent, or the fabulously wealthy heiress Barbara Hutton…).
The artist has produced a series of sculptures and sound works, as well as a film shot in Tangier in 2020, a generic work conceived according to the principle of a collective journey, on which he invited friends and partners, such as the American poet James Loop.
In the exhibition, various decorative elements evoke notions of the stage, the threshold and the boundary. Scents, windows, clocks, furniture and reconstructed interiors constantly recall Tangier. A city of arrival and departure, Tangier faces the Mediterranean just like Sète, allowing a reversal
of perspective on Europe, seen from Africa.
Marie de Brugerolle is a curator and art historian. She has collaborated with many institutions (Musée national d’art moderne – Centre Pompidou, MoMA in New York, Centre National d’Art Contemporain – Le Magasin in Grenoble). She has contributed to a better understanding
of the California scene and its links with Europe (first retrospectives of Allen Ruppersberg, John Baldessari, Larry Bell). In 2007 she conceived Faire des choses avec des mots / Making Words with Things at the CRAC in Sète. She regularly collaborates with other curators and artists: Ne pas jouer avec des choses mortes with Éric Mangion (2008, Villa Arson, Nice), I Was a Male Yvonne de Carlo, an exhibition on satire and humour in art with Dora Garcia (2011, MUSAC in León, Spain), ALL THAT FALLS with psychoanalyst Gérard Wajcman (2014, Palais de Tokyo, Paris). Recently, the exhibition RIDEAUX / blinds (2015, IAC Villeurbanne) explored the curtain as a paradigm of our ways of seeing in the era of the screen. In 2019, she created C’BARET, What Not / Speak Easy, events bringing together 22 artists, including Asher Hartman, Than Hussein Clark, Andrea Fraser, Nour Mobarak, Brandon Lattu, at the invitation of Hamza Walker (LAXART, Los Angeles).
Than Hussein Clark, Stage Prototype A (La Tour de la Defense), 2020, Steel, wood, acrylic, 480 × 480 × 130 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Ms. Hutton or The Wilted Tulip, 2020, Wig, sunglasses, glass mannequin head, female medical skeleton, vintage Balenciaga cocktail dress, plaster, epoxy resin, steel, lipstick, cocktail jewellery, aluminum, 250 × 120 × 200 cm
Than Hussein Clark, Ms. Hutton or The Wilted Tulip, 2020, Wig, sunglasses, glass mannequin head, female medical skeleton, vintage Balenciaga cocktail dress, plaster, epoxy resin, steel, lipstick, cocktail jewellery, aluminum, 250 × 120 × 200 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Ms. Hutton or The Wilted Tulip, 2020, Wig, sunglasses, glass mannequin head, female medical skeleton, vintage Balenciaga cocktail dress, plaster, epoxy resin, steel, lipstick, cocktail jewellery, aluminum, 250 × 120 × 200 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Ms. Hutton or The Wilted Tulip, 2020, Wig, sunglasses, glass mannequin head, female medical skeleton, vintage Balenciaga cocktail dress, plaster, epoxy resin, steel, lipstick, cocktail jewellery, aluminum, 250 × 120 × 200 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Ms. Hutton or The Wilted Tulip, 2020, Wig, sunglasses, glass mannequin head, female medical skeleton, vintage Balenciaga cocktail dress, plaster, epoxy resin, steel, lipstick, cocktail jewellery, aluminum, 250 × 120 × 200 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Ms. Hutton or The Wilted Tulip, 2020, Wig, sunglasses, glass mannequin head, female medical skeleton, vintage Balenciaga cocktail dress, plaster, epoxy resin, steel, lipstick, cocktail jewellery, aluminum, 250 × 120 × 200 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Ms. Hutton or The Wilted Tulip, 2020, Wig, sunglasses, glass mannequin head, female medical skeleton, vintage Balenciaga cocktail dress, plaster, epoxy resin, steel, lipstick, cocktail jewellery, aluminum, 250 × 120 × 200 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, After (Bonaparte visitant les pestiférés de Jaffa), 2020, Bespoke Rose Cummings chintz, aluminium stretcher, 535 × 720 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Sage Valise (Trouble About Freddy/3 di Sodoma), 2020, Modified Revox reel to reel recorder, leather custom flight cases, recomposed rerecorded Paul Bowles music on reel tape, 36 × 35,5 × 45 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Legend (1-5), 2020, Handbound portfolios, buckram, suede, velvet, ink, marble, wrought iron. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Legend (1-5), 2020, Handbound portfolios, buckram, suede, velvet, ink, marble, wrought iron. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Legend (6-10), 2020, Handbound portfolios, buckram, suede, velvet, ink, marble, wrought iron. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Legend (6-10), 2020, Handbound portfolios, buckram, suede, velvet, ink, marble, wrought iron. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Skhirat Coup d’État (July 1971), 2020, Clocks, steel, wrought iron, enamel, acrylic, 378,5 × 310 × 78 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, The Replacement Who Cried Replacement (The Pope Wakes Up Calls For Fruit And The News), 2020, Tangier Homes pages, Camus Autoportraits pages, ink, 54,5 × 38 × 4,2 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, The Tragedy of The Confidantes (Seeing, Hearing, Speaking), 2020, Silver gelatin print on fibre paper, frames, 83 × 123 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Untitled or the Pail of Water (Yacoubi, c. 1947), 2020, Antique milk pail, resin, photographic prints, 93 × 61 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Untitled or the Pail of Water (Yacoubi, c. 1955), 2020, Antique milk pail, resin, photographic prints, 93 × 61 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Untitled or the Pail of Water (Yacoubi, c. 1955), 2020, Antique milk pail, resin, photographic prints, 93 × 61 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Untitled or the Pail of Water (Mrabet, c. 1968), 2020, Antique milk pail, resin, photographic prints, 93 × 61 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Banquo, 2020, Steel, perspex, counterfeit ‘Divine’ by Parfums D’Orsay perfume, diaphragm pumpl, air compressor, outdoor shower, copper, marble, 218 × 116 × 116 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Banquo, 2020, Steel, perspex, counterfeit ‘Divine’ by Parfums D’Orsay perfume, diaphragm pumpl, air compressor, outdoor shower, copper, marble, 218 × 116 × 116 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Pulled Plug (For Rosica Colin), 2020, Piano stool, lacquer, hand bound typscript of Jean Genet’s Le Bleu Oei deposited with a bailiff by Roland Dumas, 36 × 35,5 × 45 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Pulled Plug (For Rosica Colin), 2020, Piano stool, lacquer, hand bound typscript of Jean Genet’s Le Bleu Oei deposited with a bailiff by Roland Dumas, 36 × 35,5 × 45 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Film Advertisment Cancelation (And You Must Treat Your Parents Well/Kindly/Righteously/With Civility), 2020, Movie poster from اديني عقلك , enamel, 63,2 × 91,5 × 3,5 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Blue Window D-V, 2020, UPVC window frame, rolled glass, steel, wrought iron, 222 × 108 × 35 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Blue Window C, 2020, UPVC window frame, rolled glass, steel, wrought iron, 222 × 108 × 35 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Blue Window C, 2020, UPVC window frame, rolled glass, steel, wrought iron, 222 × 108 × 35 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Blue Window C, 2020, UPVC window frame, rolled glass, steel, wrought iron, 222 × 108 × 35 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Stage Prototype B (La Tour de la Defense), 2020, Steel, wood, acrylic, 240 × 840 × 130 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Stage Prototype B (La Tour de la Defense), 2020, Steel, wood, acrylic, 240 × 840 × 130 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Stage Prototype B (La Tour de la Defense), 2020, Steel, wood, acrylic, 240 × 840 × 130 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Yellow Valise (I Won’t Buy Love At The Moon/48), 2020, Modified Revox reel to reel recorder, leather custom flight cases, recomposed rerecorded Paul Bowles music on reel tape, 36 × 35,5 × 45 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Film Advertisment Cancelation (Give Me Your Mind), 2020, Movie poster from اديني عقلك , enamel, 63,2 × 91,5 × 3,5 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Score For Soprano, 2020, Music stand, handbound copy of Nouvel Observateur April 5th, 1971, 50 × 150 × 28 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Coca-Cola Room Divider C (Recto: Contestants 1-3, Contestant 7/ Verso: Lagging Behind, Contestant 10), 2020, Linen, cotton, wool, steel, 30 × 457 × 330 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Score For Basso Profundo, 2020, Music stand, handbound first edition copy of FHAR: Rapport contre la normalité : le Front homosexuel d’action révolutionnaire rassemble les pièces de son dossier d’accusation : simple révolte ou début d’une révolution, Symptome 3, Editions ChampLibre, 50 × 150 × 28 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Little Night Music Cancellation, 2020, Digital film and sound on Hantarex monitor, Dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Little Night Music Cancellation, 2020, Digital film and sound on Hantarex monitor, Dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Mr. Chester or Falling Down a Staircase, 2020, Baby grand piano, steel, polymer, epoxy, 245 × 220 × 45 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Mr. Chester or Falling Down a Staircase, 2020, Baby grand piano, steel, polymer, epoxy, 245 × 220 × 45 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Mr. Chester or Falling Down a Staircase, 2020, Baby grand piano, steel, polymer, epoxy, 245 × 220 × 45 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Mr. Chester or Falling Down a Staircase, 2020, Baby grand piano, steel, polymer, epoxy, 245 × 220 × 45 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, Mr. Chester or Falling Down a Staircase, 2020, Baby grand piano, steel, polymer, epoxy, 245 × 220 × 45 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, What If The Time Of Talking About Birds Has Passed (Dismembered Tailors Doll), 2020, Silk, silk embroidery, crystal and glass beads, tray mount, steel, 200 × 120 × 10 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, What If The Time Of Talking About Birds Has Passed (Dismembered Tailors Doll), 2020, Silk, silk embroidery, crystal and glass beads, tray mount, steel, 200 × 120 × 10 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, A Little Night Music (and reversals), 2020, exhibition view, Centre d’Art Contemporain Occitanie, Sète. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, The Artist Jordan Derrien Encounters the Replacement Who Cried Replacement, 2020, Polaroid prints, signed page from Renauld Camus’s Châteaux monograph, mirror polished aluminium. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole
Than Hussein Clark, After (Le Sultant du Maroc), 2020, Bespoke Rose Cummings chintz, aluminium stretcher, 377 × 340 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecœur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole