Eric Manigaud: Service Special

Manigaud is recognised for his impeccable photo-realist drawings made after original, archival photographs. Working in series, he investigates profound, historical themes including injured World War I soldiers; bombed World War II cities; 19th century murder victims; and asylum inmates. His subject matter, therefore, is commonly brutal and uncompromising.

In this exhibition Manigaud has focused entirely on the Paris massacre of 1961, when the French National Police attacked a peaceful demonstration of pro-National Liberation Front (FLN) Algerians, which resulted in the ruthless and intentional murder of numerous unarmed demonstrators (estimated between 200 and 300 despite the French government eventually acknowledging only 40 deaths in 1998). A witness, Makhlouf Aouli, stated recently, “Algerians were drowned, strangled and dropped from planes into the sea.”(1)

(1) ‘When French police turned on Algerian protesters – and why it matters after Paris attacks’, Yasmine Ryan, Independent, 29.11.2015