"In addition to producing videos that blend utopian and dystopian modes of speculation, Neïl Beloufa also establishes, through architectonic structures, specific conditions for viewing those videos—and for being viewed in turn. In “The Colonies,” [...] these conditions are defined by a group of clunky metal, epoxy resin, and Plexiglas fixtures, occasionally adorned with crushed aluminum cans and cigarette butts as well as speakers, cameras, and other electronic components. A wall text informs visitors that some of these pieces can be used as benches and seats. But it’s not always apparent what’s sculpture and what’s furniture, and the invitation to touch runs counter to ingrained habits of polite museum behavior. The awkwardness of deciding how to engage the installation—whether to sit on or look at it—is heightened by the eventual realization that everyone in the space is also being recorded on closed-circuit video. Positioned throughout the installation are Plexiglas cylinders and spheres with small cameras on rotating arms inside them. On the interior surfaces of these structures, Beloufa has affixed an assortment of banal images: stock photos of women jogging, a snapshot of a funny-looking dog, a printout of some attractive partygoers. The moving cameras’ output runs on two monitors hung on one side of the gallery. The result is a live video collage, where images of museum visitors—captured at extreme angles, distorted by the plastic’s sheen, obscured by the scrapbook array of feelgood pictures—appear in real time. Being surveilled is supposed to make us feel tense, but there’s a funhouse quality to Beloufa’s work that renders the experience pleasant and goofy." - William S. Smith, "The Pleasures of Being Watched: Neïl Beloufa’s “The Colonies""

Neil Beloufa, Les Manques Contenus, 2011Balice Hertling, Paris

Sitography : GHEBALY GALLERY, "Neil Beloufa", p. 23, 2016.
Viewable online at:
ghebaly.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/2016-FGG_Beloufa_Portfolio-low.pdf
RONCHI, Alessandro, "Neil Beloufa. Il mondo in una stanza", artribune, 10/05/2011.
www.artribune.com/report/2011/05/neil-beloufa-il-mondo-in-una-stanza/