by Rebecca Anne Proctor
Lamia Bousnina Gallery: A New Space In Tunis Highlighting Local Craftsmanship
19 Jun 2024
Amid the ruins of Carthage, several recently made contemporary design pieces reflect the dichotomy of past and present history. The palm wood furniture designs of Lebanese Studio Manda founder Georges Mohasseb, produced by Tunisian Kais Gharbya, are positioned meditatively amid the ancient ruins of Carthage, once a crucial city for trade and culture in the Mediterranean during antiquity, while the vibrantly coloured wool kilims produced by American Medellín-based designer Chris Wolston and Le Kef artisans are draped elegantly over the remains of old Roman columns. The display was part of the preview of “Carthagisme,” the inaugural exhibition of Lamia Bousnina Gallery in Tunis, a new space dedicated to the intersection of art and design with a special focus on championing Tunisian craftsmanship.
Photo: Agnese Bedini, DSL Studio for Lamia Bousnina Gallery
“Carthage is a crucial ancient city on the Mediterranean,” said Milan-based curator of the show Nicolas Bellavance-Lecompte. He noted how the ancient city is filled with layers of culture from the various civilisations that have lived and traded in the city, including the Greeks, Romans, Ottomans and the Arabs. The city was originally founded by the Phoenicians during the 9th century BC as one of several Phoenician settlements in the western Mediterranean.
“In terms of heritage, Carthage has such a crossroads of different cultures — it is the most Mediterranean country of all North African countries somehow,” said Bellavance-Lecompte. “The word ‘carthagisme’ doesn’t exist, but Lamia and I created it to describe this connection of different cultures from the east and the west that have over centuries brought such an interesting mélange of artisanal techniques to the country.”
Nicolas Bellavance-Lecompte, Lamia Bousnina, Lina Ben Ayed. Photo: Mohamed Mejri
The exhibition, which runs until September 29, 2024, celebrates the opening of Lamia Bousnina Ben Ayed’s eponymous space in Tunis and the mission of the space to connect Tunisian design with the rest of the world.
“I wanted to discover our heritage, our Tunisian heritage and begin to create projects of collectable design,” said Ben Ayed, expressing her desire to share those projects with the rest of the world. The new gallery is situated in a sleekly designed space with high ceilings below a second floor where "Musk and Amber", Ben Ayed’s concept store, which she has operated for 10 years, continues to be stationed. There, one can find a variety of accessories, cutlery, furniture and fashion made by Tunisian creatives.
Photo: Agnese Bedini, DSL Studio for Lamia Bousnina Gallery
“Carthagisme” eloquently presents the specially commissioned collectable design pieces of six designers who worked alongside Tunisian artisans who employed their traditional techniques. The pieces, while they explore contemporary forms and themes, forge a dialogue between the past and present through the preservation of Tunisian craftsmanship.
Palestinian brothers Elias and Yousef Anastas created a series of stone tables whose shape is determined by computer modelling. As an extension of their architectural Stone Matters project, which explores the overuse of stone in Palestinian architecture, the brothers joined forces with local Tunisian film MDO to craft each piece. The stone tables debuted featured intertwining anamorphous cells that were joined together without any glue or cement.
Mohasseb and Gharbya worked to produce furniture from palm wood — a material famously difficult to work with due to its irregular and tough fibres. The result was a variety of palm wood furniture featuring smooth surfaces and forms.
Mary-Lynn Massoud. Photo: Mohamed Mejri
Lebanese designer, Mary-Lynn Massoud worked with local Tunisian ceramists, such as Berber women from the Gafsa region of Tunisia. The collection of variously sized ceramic floor and table lamps, which resembles the texture and forms of Mohasseb’s palm wood pieces, revisits traditional Tunisian tribal ceramics.
Incarpetations by Chris Wolston. Photo: Lucia Cavalieri
In stark contrast are the colourful kilims of Chris Wolston, who worked with 10 weavers from the Le Kef region to interpret a single digital drawing by Wolston. The result is 10 vibrantly hued kilims with a mix of abstract geometric-like shapes.
Hannon and the Mediterranean Mirage by Louis Barthélemy. Photo: Mohamed Mejri
A rich use of colours can also be found in “Hannon and the Mediterranean Mirage,” a 200 x 283 cm tapestry by multidisciplinary artist and designer Louis Barthélemy working with Tunisian artisan Nejib Bel Haj. The tapestry offers a deep narration, weaving stories from ancient Carthage, such as that of the 6th BCE Carthaginian explorer Hannon’s journeys around the Mediterranean to tales of modern-day hardship of North African migrants crossing the Mediterranean in search of new life.
“We plan to stage the exhibition around the world,” said Ben Ayed. “We want to create bridges between collectors and designers between Tunisia and the rest of the world.”
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