ACT by Alfredo Jaar
“Amnesty International has reported torture or ill-treatment in at least 141 countries in the last 5 years. This is unacceptable. I have been commissioned a new long-term project by ACT to focus on this crime. In preparation for this project, I have created a simple work to raise funds and public awareness. It is a cubic candle with the following words inscribed in its four faces: TORTURE. MUST. END. NOW.
“A candle is a symbol of prayer in all religions. It signifies light in periods of darkness, and life overcoming death. These candles remind us of the dark times in which we live. They are an invitation to get involved and make our voices heard.
“Torture must end now.”
Alfredo Jaar
Torture Must End Now
2022
Alfredo Jaar
64 Candles in Designed Black Frame
72.5cm × 72.5cm × 9cm
Edition 1 of 10
Alfredo Jaar is an artist, architect, and filmmaker who lives and works in New York. His work has been shown extensively around the world. He has participated in the Biennales of Venice (1986, 2007, 2009, 2013), Sao Paulo (1987, 1989, 2010, 2021) as well as Documenta in Kassel (1987, 2002).
Important individual exhibitions include The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York (1992); Whitechapel, London (1992); Moderna Museet, Stockholm (1994); The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (1995) and The Museum of Contemporary Art, Rome (2005). Major recent surveys of his work have taken place at Musée des Beaux Arts, Lausanne (2007); Hangar Bicocca, Milan (2008); Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlinische Galerie and Neue Gesellschaft fur bildende Kunst e.V., Berlin (2012); Rencontres d’Arles (2013); KIASMA, Helsinki (2014); Yorkshire Sculpture Park, UK (2017) and SESC Pompeia, Sao Paulo (2021).
The artist has realized more than seventy public interventions around the world. Over sixty monographic publications have been published about his work. He became a Guggenheim Fellow in 1985 and a MacArthur Fellow in 2000. He received the Hiroshima Art Prize in 2018 and the Hasselblad Award in 2020.
His work can be found in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art and Guggenheim Museum, New York; Art Institute of Chicago and Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; MOCA and LACMA, Los Angeles; MASP, Museu de Arte de São Paulo; TATE, London; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Nationalgalerie, Berlin; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Centro Reina Sofia, Madrid; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; MAXXI and MACRO, Rome; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlaebeck; Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art and Tokushima Modern Art Museum, Japan; M+, Hong Kong; and dozens of institutions and private collections worldwide.
Events and activities
It Is Difficult — Talk with Alfredo Jaar at Mamco
September 28 at 6:30 pm
Inauguration of ACT 2022 by Alfredo Jaar at artgenève
On the occasion of artgenève, Artists Against Torture (ACT) announced the launch of its 2022 campaign in collaboration with internationally renowned artist and architect Alfredo Jaar. To inaugurate this project, ACT presented an exclusive creation of Alfredo Jaar.
ACT 2022 launches at Art Genève — 10th Edition
artgenève will celebrate its 10th anniversary from 2 to 6 March 2022 at Palexpo, Geneva.