Sidi Ali El Mekki, 2011, 2018
Digital Photoprint on Fine Art paper face-mounted on acryllic, aluminum; 53 × 36 cm | 20 7/8 × 14 1/8 in
Edition of 3 + 1 AP
The photograph “Sidi Ali El Makki, 2011”, shows an eight-year-old Tunisian girl in a headscarf looking into the water. In pre-revolution Tunisia, such a sight would be inimaginable. The photograph highlights a culturally hybrid situation. For conservative Islam it would be allowed to show the face but not the body; for European instead, it would be allowed to show the body, but not the face; it would need to be blackened, blurred, or pixilated to protect personal rights if the young girl. In either direction, it is not possible to show the entire figure of the girl at the beach. On one hand, the photograph that was taken in summer 2011 documents a moment of change in Tunisia, on the other hand it performs the intersection of both cultural spheres that are projected on the figure of the eight-year old girl on the beach.