ADN Galeria company logo
ADN Galeria
Skip to main content
  • Menu
  • Artists
  • Exhibitions
  • Fairs
  • News
  • Activities
  • Blog
  • Collection
  • Viewing room
  • Contact
  • EN
  • CA
  • ES
Menu
  • EN
  • CA
  • ES
mounir fatmi
Morocco, b. 1970

mounir fatmi Morocco, b. 1970

  • Works
  • Installation shots
  • Biography
  • Exhibitions
  • News
  • Share
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    • Tumblr
    • Email
  • Video
  • Previous artist Browse artists Next artist
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: mounir fatmi, The Index and the Machine 01, 2016
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: mounir fatmi, The Index and the Machine 01, 2016
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: mounir fatmi, The Index and the Machine 01, 2016
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: mounir fatmi, The Index and the Machine 01, 2016
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: mounir fatmi, The Index and the Machine 01, 2016
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: mounir fatmi, The Index and the Machine 01, 2016
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: mounir fatmi, The Index and the Machine 01, 2016
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: mounir fatmi, The Index and the Machine 01, 2016

mounir fatmi Morocco, b. 1970

The Index and the Machine 01, 2016
Linotype, starter cables, papers and wooden base.
1.000 kg. 180 x 226 x 160 cm.
Enquire
%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22artist%22%3Emounir%20fatmi%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22title_and_year%22%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_title%22%3EThe%20Index%20and%20the%20Machine%2001%3C/span%3E%2C%20%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_year%22%3E2016%3C/span%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22medium%22%3ELinotype%2C%20starter%20cables%2C%20papers%20and%20wooden%20base.%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22dimensions%22%3E1.000%20kg.%20180%20x%20226%20x%20160%20cm.%3C/div%3E

Further images

  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 1 ) mounir fatmi, Evolution or Death, Matéo, 2004
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 2 ) mounir fatmi, Evolution or Death, Matéo, 2004
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 3 ) mounir fatmi, Evolution or Death, Matéo, 2004
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 4 ) mounir fatmi, Evolution or Death, Matéo, 2004
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 5 ) mounir fatmi, Evolution or Death, Matéo, 2004
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 6 ) mounir fatmi, Evolution or Death, Matéo, 2004
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 7 ) mounir fatmi, Evolution or Death, Matéo, 2004
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 8 ) mounir fatmi, Evolution or Death, Matéo, 2004
The Index and the Machine is a word association used in Western history since the Renaissance, during which time the printing machine originated. Soon thereafter the first Index (the list...
More information
The Index and the Machine is a word association used in Western history since the Renaissance, during which time the printing machine originated. Soon thereafter the first Index (the list of prohibited books by the Church) was published.
The printing machine changed writing, literature and especially culture, in all its aspects. Until its creation, some instruments and tools had allowed a controlled circulation of religious ideas. Nevertheless, it wasn’t until its creation that books experienced a massive diffusion. As an instrument devoted to democracy, it quickly became a vehicle for the expansion of multiple ideas. However, the accession of the printing machine also brought censorship and ideological control to its peak. A proof of this was the first published text, the Bible, which served as a model, but also imposed a form of restriction that impeded the diffusion and evolution of other more advanced theories. Since then, the Church published normative texts such as the List of Prohibited Books (Index librorum prohibitorum), which wasn’t formally abolished until 1966. Throughout these four centuries, many of the leading philosophers and writers such as Voltaire, Sartre, Spinoza, Locke Proudhon, Saint-Simon, Flaubert, and Descartes, were “mis à l’index”¹, and their works were accused of being ‘pernicious’ by the Catholic Church.
In this installation, fatmi traces this problematic and brings to light the paradoxical duality faced by the mechanization of writing, a once ancestral technique. The central theme is that of censorship, which is dealt with through various aspects. More broadly the artist poses questions to the visitor about the concept of culture and history. Taking the opposite view of the idea expressed by the Index, seen here as a reflection of the "universalist" culture that prevailed over four centuries throughout the Catholic West.
Finally, the installation, The Index and The Machine, proposes a deep examination of certain topics to which fatmi tries to respond -such as the effects of hegemonic discourses, history, interpretation, memory and identity. Those topics are also present over the whole of his artistic production.
Close full details
Previous
|
Next
7 
of  26
Privacy Policy
Cookie Policy
Manage cookies
Copyright © 2025 ADN Galeria.
Site by Artlogic

ADN Galeria. Carrer de Mallorca, 205. 08036 Barcelona
Tel. +34 93 451 00 64 | info@adngaleria.com

Facebook, opens in a new tab.
Twitter, opens in a new tab.
Instagram, opens in a new tab.
Join the mailing list
Send an email
View on Google Maps

This website uses cookies
This site uses cookies to help make it more useful to you. Find out more about cookies.

Manage cookies
Accept

Cookie preferences

Check the boxes for the cookie categories you allow our site to use

Cookie options
Required for the website to function and cannot be disabled.
Improve your experience on the website by storing choices you make about how it should function.
Allow us to collect anonymous usage data in order to improve the experience on our website.
Allow us to identify our visitors so that we can offer personalised, targeted marketing.
Save preferences