A witty artistic intervention that involves visitors

“I was never interested so much in contemporary art, and never also thought of becoming an artist,”

The above remarks may seem strange for a talented artist who is now hosting a show in Europe. Asim Waqif’s ‘Bordel Monstre’ (Monstrous Mess) is on view at the prestigious Palais de Tokyo, Paris. For his first ever solo exhibition in Europe, the artist has tried to give definite shape to the ‘attrition of the world’. He has done so by developing a visual language firmly anchored in today’s urban society.

A gallery note elaborates: “In an atypical space, evocative of archaeological ruins but also of a survival from modernist architecture, the artist produces a deeply committed and witty intervention which visitors are invited to walk through and experience. Reusing bits and pieces left over from earlier exhibitions, the artist creates a structure inhabited by a complex interactive electronic system, reacting differently according to each individual. Visiting Bordel Monstre is thus a unique experience for everyone."

A graduate in architecture, Asim Waqif (born 1978) who now lives and works in Delhi, has a practice turned as much toward art as design, but always closely linked to town planning and policies for the use of public space. Demolition, deconstruction, the in-between stage are central to his installations, created in situ, whether it be on a river, or a piece of derelict land. His works are backed up by long research, the notion of context being of crucial importance in his practice. Asim Waqif tries to mix tradition and technology, in a gesture that is poetic, but not devoid of risk.

Formerly working as an architect, he felt constrained while designing within the formal confines of an office, and hence began producing avant-garde installations about seven years ago. For his latest dazzling display, he has employed an array of unconventional materials, weaving debris – such as discarded wood panels, wiring, plastic waste, metal and dry waste — into an elaborate, interactive sculpture.  Many of his previous artworks have comprised video, sound, sculpture and dance.