Fragments I : From 13 May to 28 September 2015
Fragments II : From 4 November 2015 to 29 February 2016

In the footsteps of Abdelhak al Ouartani

The contemporary art scene in Tunisia is rich, varied and fertile. With Traces… Fragments of a Contemporary Tunisia, a project consisting of two consecutive exhibitions – Fragments I (from 13 May to 28 September 2015) and Fragments II (from 4 November 2015 to 29 February 2016) – the Mucem offers a glimpse of the images of Tunisia’s young artists.

This diptych of exhibitions is based on a search for traces of what remains from the past. It bears witness to a pursuit of history, to ravaged landscapes, and a refusal to simply wipe the slate clean. The works presented draw upon what comes from and what predates, well before, the political event.

However, it would be simplistic to speak of an “art of the revolution”, a label that resembles a slogan or passing fad. It is not just a question of addressing the short lived, transitory episodes, which saturate the news distorting perceptions, but to expand the horizon by multiplying the perspectives.

Traces… Fragments of a Contemporary Tunisia gathers in two exhibitions the work of artists Zied Ben Romdhane, Ismaïl Bahri, Fakhri El Ghezal, Héla Ammar, Souad Mani, ismaël, Augustin Le Gall, Wadi Mhiri and Houda Ghorbel, Faten Gaddes and Wassim Ghozlani, as well as photographs by one of the first Tunisian photographers, Abdelhak El Ouertani. Composed of photography, video, installations and digital art this exhibition intends to testify, five years after the revolution, to the richness and multiplicity of perspectives on Tunisia today.

The exhibition privileges the viewpoint of the image: seeing in the latter what it reveals about a new Tunisia turned toward the past, the present and the future.

Commissioners: Thierry Fabre, Director of the Department of Cultural Programming and International Relations (Mucem), Sana Tamzini, Commissioner of exhibitions, president of FACT-Forum des associations culturelles en Tunisie (forum of Tunisian cultural associations).
Coordinator of programming at the Georges Henri Rivière Building: Jean-Roch Bouiller, Curator, Contemporary Art Director (Mucem)
Scenography: Olivier Bedu and Juliette Morel – Struc’Archi