*New works produced for the exhibition.

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The galerie Édouard-Manet is delighted to present the first chapter of the exhibition "J'ai pleuré devant la fin d'un manga" ("I cried at the end of a manga").

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In today's hyper-connected, saturated, deafening world, manga culture - drawn, animated, electronised - has crossed the borders of Japan to establish itself for millions of people as new interfaces for apprehending the world. Entire generations learned to tame pokemons, project their empathy and appreciation of kawaii onto pixelated digital beings, and cosplay new mythological figures with quasi-divine powers.

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This new cultural grammar has integrated our habitus, our sense of community, the interstices of our imagination and profoundly transformed our aesthetic conceptions. Initially reduced by its detractors to gory brutality, perverse sexuality and vile imagery, manga culture has become a fertile matrix, a space for empathy, projection and self-construction.

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This exhibition is the first of its kind in French institutions. A second chapter will open at the Château Centre d’Art Contemporain d’Aubenas, in November 2024.

Image: Petra Szemán, Openings!!!, 2022 ©Petra Szemán, courtesy of the artist.

Exhibition title: from the lyrics of Lundi, by Johan Papaconstantino.
 

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