Photography, in particular “orientalist” photography, has always functioned as simulation. In the 19th century, other modes of representation were introduced by photography and theater. This age would invent the ocular spectacle, a scenography complex with special effects, a collection of new images. The mechanical image claims to have replaced the word. Confronting Fouad Debbas’ “oriental” collection with contemporary material, The Making of Illusions outlines a different history of photography, contradictory and illegitimate. This exhibition brings together photographs from the Fouad Debbas Collection and works by ten international contemporary artists: Mac Adams, Nadim Asfar, Vartan Avakian, Elina Brotherus, Daniele Genadry, Randa Mirza, Louis Quail, Angélique Stehli, Wiktoria Wojciechowska, and Ali Zanjani.