Mohamed Bourouissa | City of Paris Museum of Modern Art

In the early photographic series _Périphérique_ (Peripheral; 2005–2008) and _Temps mort _(Down Time; 2008) the basic principles of his work were already evident: observation of society

through its margins and collective activities that emphasise the human dimension. The "Urban Riders" exhibition revolves around Bourouissa's film _Horse Day_, shot in the

disadvantaged North Philadelphia neighbourhood of Strawberry Mansion. The film was a decisive stage in his artistic development. During an eight-month residency he became interested in the

Fletcher Street community stables, which he discovered thanks to the images of American photographer Martha Camarillo. Founded by African-American riders, the stables are a place of healing

and imaginative crystallisation for local young adults and a refuge for abandoned horses. While not opting for a documentary approach, Bourouissa addresses the history of the stables,

together with cowboy imagery and the conquest of wide open spaces. As the months went by he worked at making contact and sharing with the local community. His cinematically meticulous film

retraces this project, offering a powerful account of an urban utopia. Fascinated by the representation of America's black cowboys, Bourouissa tackles the recurring issues of

territorial appropriation, power and transgression. _Horse Day_ comes with some eighty related items, graphic works conveying the artist's freedom of approach and the rich variety of

his visual language. On-the-spot sketches, preliminary drawings, storyboard, collages, ink roughs and watercolours fill out the project's origins and development. There are, too,

portraits of riders and of costumed horses whose "customising" metaphor is extended by images from the film printed onto sections of car bodies. After being shown in different

versions, notably at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, the exhibition has been enlarged and revamped for the Musée d'Art Moderne. In addition

a programme of workshops with guest artists will delve deeper into the questions of collective history and representation of identity. With this project the museum renews its support for an

artist whose photographic series _Temps mort_ and film _Legend_ are part of its permanent collection. To mark the exhibition an artist's book containing all Mohamed Bourouissa's

works on paper will be published by Paris Musées. CURATORS : Odile Burluraux & Jessica Castex With the backing of