Duo with Mohamed Ben Soltane · Galerie Ammar Farhat, Sidi Bou Saïd
« A few months before my wedding, I transformed the traditional trousseau into a site of observation and derision. »
Media : Installation , Ceramics , Artist Book
Themes : Body , Transmission & Heritage
“Zhez” refers to the traditional Tunisian wedding trousseau: everything purchased in preparation for starting a life together.
In Tunisia, the zhez is traditionally divided in two: the man is responsible for providing the furniture and major household appliances, while the woman takes care of everything else.
In 2012, artist Mohamed Ben Soltane and I were both due to get married a few months later, each to our respective partners. We thought it would be amusing to create an exhibition around the concept of zhez in Tunisia and everything it encompasses: the weight of tradition, the business built around it, the consumer society that profits from it, and the burden of inherited expectations.
Exploring the zhez became, for us, a way of talking about love, consumption, tradition, and social pressure.
He would address the part traditionally assigned to men; I would address the part assigned to women.
The exhibition invitation took the form of a wedding announcement, announcing the fictional marriage between our two artistic practices.
What I contributed to this trousseau:
- A wedding dress made entirely of paper. The lower part of the dress was covered with fake invoices displaying astronomical prices — because as soon as you say something is for the wedding trousseau, the price doubles, or even triples.
- An illustrated calendar, featuring one real event each month from the preparations for my own wedding.
- A tableware set: two woodcuts featuring funny and absurd Tunisian expressions about love, and six hand-drawn porcelain plates featuring popular sayings about food and marriage.
- A traditional baby basket filled with eyes, intended to ward off the evil eye.
- A kitchen apron addressed to my future mother-in-law, featuring a fried egg and the words: “This is all I know how to cook.” A clear message from the outset.
- A porcelain piggy bank displaying the honeymoon destinations I dreamed of — but the piggy bank is empty.
All the titles of the works were drawn from humorous Tunisian proverbs and expressions about marriage, union, and love.
Medium / Date
Paper dress, fake invoices, woodcuts, porcelain plates, traditional baby basket, apron, porcelain piggy bank.
Zhez, two-person exhibition with Mohamed Ben Soltane — Galerie Ammar Farhat, Sidi Bou Saïd, February 2012.
→ See also : Sunday Voters — Family Album