“Rage and Desire — The Beating Heart of Men” by photographer Gérard Rancinan and writer Caroline Gaudriault
Morocco
Rabat
2021
11
This exhibition, Of Rage and Desire, The Beating Heart of Men, presents a unique photographic and literary confrontation exploring the state of humanity in the modern era. Conceived by international photographer Gérard Rancinan and French author Caroline Gaudriault, the project uses monumental imagery and reflective texts to critically examine the profound social contradictions and transformations that have defined life in the 20th and 21st centuries. The display features Rancinan’s striking, metaphor-rich photographs, which often reinterpret classic masterpieces, alongside Gaudriault’s powerful calligraphic installations. Organized into three immersive parts, the exhibition charts our complex relationship with Modernity and societal upheaval. Visitors leave having considered the full range of human feeling — our hopes, rages, desires, and responsibilities — within the continuous transformation of the global world.
Why should you watch this?
The film Of Rage and Desire, The Beating Heart of Men speaks directly to our fractured present by pairing Gérard Rancinan’s monumental, often operatic photographs with Caroline Gaudriault’s hand-written texts, forcing a conversation between image and language about power, longing, and social fracture. Moments such as a staged tableau that echoes a classical masterpiece and a nearby wall of looping calligraphy confront viewers with feeling and argument at once — beautiful, unsettling, and hard to look away from. The effect is both visceral and cerebral: it provokes anger, invites reflection, and asks a final responsibility of us all — to name what we want and what we must change.
Yokoo in Wonderland
Japan
Kobe
2023
19
Yokoo in Wonderland invites visitors into artist Yokoo Tadanori’s parallel realm, where the boundaries of reality dissolve into a collection of wonders. Drawing inspiration from Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice in Wonderland, the exhibition guides viewers through a journey that begins with a girl falling into an underground kingdom, then continues into space and an unknown world. The experience progresses through “The Looking-Glass World,” where real and virtual images intertwine, and concludes in “The Land of Dreams,” blurring reality and unreality. Through Yokoo’s distinctive artistic vision, this exhibition encourages a deep immersion into an infinitely expanding universe, prompting reflection on how art can transport and reshape our perception of the world.
Why should you watch this?
The film Yokoo in Wonderland resonates now because it stages how our sense of reality unravels and reforms under technological and social pressure. Yokoo’s Alice-like girl — leaping down a hole into an underground kingdom, surfacing beneath seas and in orbit — models curiosity as a way to face dizzying image worlds. The mirror passage, where reflections splice with virtual figures, feels eerily topical in an era of screens and layered identities. The work unsettles and thrills, alternating moments of childlike astonishment with sudden dislocation. Its lasting charge is both simple and urgent: openness to strangeness sharpens perception, and imagination becomes a civic skill for living together.
Yokoo Tadanori: Forest in Soul
Japan
Kobe
2023
17
Yokoo Tadanori: Forest in Soul brings to life the artist’s 2022 novel, Genkyo no mori, transforming its narrative into an immersive exhibition. Yokoo Tadanori, a renowned painter and writer, explores art and life through conversations with 280 departed souls. These figures, from celebrated artists like Pablo Picasso and Marcel Duchamp to personal acquaintances and his beloved cat Tama, profoundly shaped Yokoo’s artistic vision throughout his career. The exhibition’s forest-like setting visually embodies these dialogues, inviting visitors to wander through Yokoo’s imagined world. Guests will discover how timeless influences from diverse realms can inspire creativity, prompting reflection on the enduring connections between existence, artistry, and memory.
Why should you watch this?
The film Forest in Soul speaks urgently to our moment by turning absence into conversation, showing how art sustains communities when memory fragments. Yokoo stages a forest where Y meets 280 departed voices — Picasso and Duchamp one moment, Mishima and Tama the next — so that art, history, and the personal overlap. The effect is at once uncanny and consoling: a circle of vanished figures arguing, joking, and offering stubborn truths that unsettle received stories while nourishing imagination. Moments such as the grand forum of the departed and a whispered exchange with Yokoo’s cat create both wonder and intimacy. The takeaway: listening across time renews how we live and make meaning together.
Nicholas Roerich. Sanctuaries and Citadels
Russia
Moscow
2018
108
N.K. Roerich’s exhibition unveils over 80 captivating works inspired by his 1925 Central Asian expedition. With an extraordinary blend of majestic mountain landscapes, Buddhist monasteries, and formidable fortresses, Roerich crafts a compelling narrative of heroism and spiritual pursuit that transcends cultural boundaries. His pieces celebrate the sacredness of labor and the enduring human spirit, evoking a universal call to courage and resilience. Roerich’s unique style, characterized by what can be termed “epic realism,” draws upon his deep understanding of history, folklore, and religious traditions.
Why should you watch this?
N.K. Roerich’s “Shrines and Strongholds” resonates powerfully in today’s world, where themes of resilience, spirituality, and cultural identity are increasingly vital. As modern society redefines spirituality Roerich’s exploration of heroism and the sacred nature of labor offers a poignant reflection on the indomitable human spirit that transcends boundaries of faith and nationality. His majestic depictions of mountain landscapes and spiritual sites serve as symbols of hope, encouraging us to aspire for personal and collective growth. Roerich’s emphasis on courage and the potential for spiritual feats invites contemporary audiences to recognize the shared human experience and the transformative power of art as a catalyst for understanding. The exhibition not only honors Roerich’s legacy but also inspires a renewed dialogue about courage, identity, and our interconnectedness in the global narrative.