Les Années 1980, l’Insoutenable Légèreté

This Centre Pompidou show mixes photographic works and videos in a high-octane exploration of ‘the unbearable lightness’ of the ’80s. The productions mix reality, fantasy and pastiche, giving ‘Les Années 1980, l’Insoutenable Légèreté’ the immediacy of a Polaroid and the vibrant irony of fluorescent Lycra. But beneath the apparent insouciance of the brightly-coloured exhibits, another aspect starts to emerge – a social critique from the generation traumatised by the HIV epidemic.