“ The installation Perfume of Traitors III takes a literary reference as its starting point: Jean Genet’s autobiographical novel The Thief’s Journal (1949). Moved by Genet’s writing on violence, treason, and love, Tarek Lakhrissi created eight steel objects that distort, embellish—and as such, betray—the appearance and function of weapons. A machete, a dagger, and a spear, among others, are rendered smooth and shiny rather than sharp and menacing. Lit by a green neon light that conjures an otherworldly atmosphere, the installation invites visitors to get up close to the weapons, which might at first seem threatening, but are actually quite delicate: while they imply self-defence, they have no intention to kill. Rather, the hanging weapons inter- fere with the visitor’s path, suggesting a sense of performativity. Lakhrissi draws a parallel between the nature of these subver- sive sculptures and racialized, queer individuals, whose fragility is often denied through stereotypical depictions in the media.” (Julia Stocheck Foundation)
