Kader Attia presents his multimedia installation "Whisper of Traces" at the 2026 Venice Biennale, curated by Koyo Kouoh under the theme "In Minor Keys." The work explores the intersections of magic, spirituality, traditional healing, and digitalization, drawing on Attia's long-standing interest in how colonialism, neoliberalism, and technology have transformed shamanic and healing practices. Attia describes the project as an accumulation of psychic traces from human history, which his mother called "ghosts."
The interview matters because Attia's work raises urgent questions about repair in contemporary society. He argues that Western repair is merely aesthetic—restoring objects or bodies to a prior state—rather than ethical, which would require sitting with wounds and acknowledging them. His participation in the Biennale, invited by the late Koyo Kouoh, adds emotional weight, as Attia credits Kouoh as both mentor and sister, and says her presence permeates the entire project. The piece thus becomes a meditation on memory, loss, and what it truly means to heal.