Anton Laborde France, b. 1999
Total Khéops, 2024
Mixed media of natural and handmade stained wood collage on wood panel, marquetry hybrid.
65 x 70 cm
GRAL019
Further images
This work references not only the album Total Kheops by French DJ Kheops, member of the rap group IAM, but also the novel Total Khéops by Jean-Claude Izzo, published in...
This work references not only the album Total Kheops by French DJ Kheops, member of the rap group IAM, but also the novel Total Khéops by Jean-Claude Izzo, published in 1995 and set in Marseille — the hometown of both DJ Kheops and IAM.
The novel, a landmark of the “Mediterranean noir” genre, weaves a dense, chaotic and poetic urban atmosphere, deeply infused with social critique. It portrays a fractured society plagued by inequality, systemic violence, trafficking, corruption and racism - in short, an urban jungle.
In Anton Laborde’s work, the word “Total” also directly references the French oil company of the same name, a major polluter and symbol of environmental destruction. Taken together, Total Khéops evokes a powerful sense of disorder, with far-reaching social and ecological consequences.
The novel, a landmark of the “Mediterranean noir” genre, weaves a dense, chaotic and poetic urban atmosphere, deeply infused with social critique. It portrays a fractured society plagued by inequality, systemic violence, trafficking, corruption and racism - in short, an urban jungle.
In Anton Laborde’s work, the word “Total” also directly references the French oil company of the same name, a major polluter and symbol of environmental destruction. Taken together, Total Khéops evokes a powerful sense of disorder, with far-reaching social and ecological consequences.