"Raghata" by Mohamed Amine Hamouda
When and where?
Monday 9 May 2022 at 16:30
Cité de la Culture - Tunis
"Raghata" is a term known in the oases as solidarity between farmers.
From this tradition, which is almost disappearing, our project starts by inviting those who are interested to experience, learn the technique, and participate in the collection and preparation of mulberry branches to extract and make tissue paper from mulberry and other trees in the oasis. Of course, this involves several stages of cutting, cleaning, peeling, boiling, drying, cleaning, grinding and others that require time and a lot of physical effort in order to extract the fibres and threads of silk, castor, palm, etc. The process goes through the workshop and involves making large formats of vegetable paper, monitoring the drying of some of the coloured plants in the oasis and preparing dyes and coloured pigments.
The project consists of making paper mats of different sizes and thicknesses. In a style that moves away from all folkloric forms and the simple restoration of heritage signs, it is a question of drawing on the deep heritage as well as on the collective and popular memory.
Born in Gabes, Tunisia, Mohamed Amine Hamouda is a visual artist, scenographer and university teacher at the Higher Institute of Arts and Crafts in Gabes.
In recent years, he has focused on experimental research that consists of exploiting what Mother Earth offers us, through her pigments and coloured fibres, breaking with everything industrial and chemical. He makes his dyes and papers from natural plant elements only. Since 2010, he has been exhibiting in Tunisia and abroad in group exhibitions (Morocco, Greece, Turkey, Germany, Kuwait...) and has been welcomed in artist residencies.
Three solo exhibitions: "Transcendance" in 2016 in Gabes, "À fleur de Papier" in 2018 in Elbirou, Sousse and "Transe-Papier" in 2019 at the gallery of the Higher Institute of Arts and Crafts in Gabes.
Group exhibitions: "Will the 21st century be African?" in 2019, "TRIVIUM" in 2020, "You are the Dance" in 2021 at the Yosr BEN AMMAR Gallery. "L'espace de dedans" at the Aicha GORGI Gallery in 2021.
Mohamed Amine HAMOUDA received the 1st prize of the Festimed Hammamet festival in 2007 as well as the 2nd prize of the Biennial of Arab artists in Kowait in 2019.
Practical information
Conversation Monday 9 May 2022 at 4.30 pm at the Cité de la Culture in Tunis - Central Hall - Ground Floor
Price information
Free