The Archipelago Between Dream and Reality: Traces of Édouard Glissant in Paris with “Pays rêvé, pays réel”

When a person is torn from the soil of their birth, what kind of country do they construct within their memory? How is the chasm bridged between that utopian “dream country” yearned for in abandonment and the “real country” imposed by exile, diaspora, and migration? Martinican legendary writer, poet, and philosopher Édouard Glissant’s monumental 1985 poetry collection titled Pays rêvé, pays réel comes back to life within the visual arts through a magnificent exhibition spanning two major galleries in Paris.

Two Venues, a Single Geographical Labyrinth

Adopting a spatial strategy deeply faithful to its concept, the exhibition takes place simultaneously across two different galleries in Paris: Esther Schipper and Galerie Natalie Seroussi. This fragmented institutional structure serves as a direct salute to Glissant’s famous archipelagic philosophy (la pensée archipélique). For the audience to experience overlapping histories, divided geographies, and boundary-transcending identities, they too must travel from one venue to another within the city, transforming the exhibition from a static viewing into an active practice of migration.

Aesthetic Bridges Across Generations and Geographies

Orchestrated by curator Lucien Terras, the exhibition places masterpieces selected from Natalie Seroussi’s deeply rooted historical collection into an uncanny and fascinating conversation with the productions of today’s most powerful contemporary artists. The showcase takes shape around the concepts of migration, memory, post-colonial language, and belonging.

The intergenerational dialogue features pairings and artists that offer a true visual feast. Merikokeb Berhanu, Sanford Biggers, Julien Creuzet (whom we know closely from the Venice Biennale), Leslie Hewitt, and Thomias Radin reproduce Glissant’s thoughts on the African diaspora using today’s contemporary political and aesthetic language. Standing directly across from these contemporary productions are the surrealist universe of Roberto Matta, the vibrant popular narratives of Moké, the monumental forms of Simone Leigh, and the historical inquiries of Arjan Martins. Édouard Glissant’s philosophy rejects defining an individual’s identity through a single fixed root or a dictated singular narrative. Instead, identity is a fluid entirety of relationships built with other cultures. The artists in the exhibition celebrate precisely this state of rootlessness and multi-rootedness not as a weakness, but as a monumental domain of aesthetic resistance.

no-26 Travel Note

Even though Pays rêvé, pays réel sets off from a Caribbean-centric system of thought, it presents a universal map that flawlessly traces those invisible yet shattering historical ties operating between Africa, Europe, and the Americas. If your path takes you to Paris before the beginning of August, make sure to shuttle between these two galleries and experience this intellectual route where history, dreams, and realities collide firsthand.

Exhibition Details:

• Exhibition Title: Pays rêvé, pays réel (Dream Country, Real Country)
• Curator / Proposal by: Lucien Terras
• Venues: Esther Schipper Paris + Galerie Natalie Seroussi (Paris, France)
• Dates: June 4 – August 1, 2026 (Now open)
• Literary Context: Inspired by Édouard Glissant’s 1985 poetic compilation Pays rêvé, pays réel.