Join us online for a talk by scholar Jill Jarvis to examine the role of art and literature as a witness to trauma endured by Algerians during and after French colonisation. Jarvis’ academic research foregrounds aesthetic works as testimony of the toxic radiance that French nuclear imperialism imposed in the Sahara. Departing from Jarvis’ book Decolonizing Memory: Algeria and the Politics of Testimony, the discussion will explore how art and literature rewrite history, dispute state authority to arbitrate justice, and cultivate a porous archive for imagining decolonised futures. Akin to Samia Henni’s working in our current exhibition, Jarvis’ research similarly attempts to sound what has been silenced and make visible the durational aspects of colonial violence.

This event is curated by curatorial assistant Zain Al Saie, in response to Samia Henni’s documentation of France’s secret nuclear programme in Algeria throughout the exhibition Performing Colonial Toxicity.