With the World as our Limit, with Émilie Houssa

Today, our world seems beset by violence on all sides; whether it’s verbal, physical, or in the media, it has crept into every corner of our daily lives. While the term may seem outdated, the very idea of counterculture can serve as both a social and political bulwark against this omnipresent violence. A form of respite emerges through the alternative perspectives offered by artists who take a clear stand. Counterculture, in this sense, is more of a societal stance than an artistic practice. From this point, we can ask what tools it still offers us today. 

Émilie Houssa (b. 1983) is an art historian and co-director of the Centre Claude Cahun in Nantes, an exhibition and education space dedicated to independent artistic practices. She previously taught art history and semiology in Montreal and Paris. Houssa writes critical essays on contemporary photography, such as the work of Juliette Agnel or Anthony Guerrée, and is also a novelist. She is currently working on her third novel, and has received support from the Centre National du Livre and the Villa Medici.