Wadi Mhiri
“From afar, the transparency of the encasement and the subtle manifestation of its contents reveal a form enthroned by a generous wreath of flowers; its strong, dark brown color intrigues, and its presence is dignified.
The installation consists of a large ceramic grenade enveloped by a wreath of delicate paper anise flowers.
The anise flowers, symbolizing of feelings of love, eagerly embrace the ceramic apparatus that recalls early versions of the weapon. The delicate, flexible paper meeting the cold hardness of the ceramic material highlights an extreme contradiction; the work is charged with both peace and fear.
The bomb rests on its bed of flowers like a corpse in its tomb. War and the greed that it symbolizes are moderated by a flow of love and grace provided by the anise flowers. A new love song is like a remedy for hatred and war, the piece an aesthetic and symbolically engaged utopia.
The imagination is pushed to receive more than visual stimulation. The sense of smell comes in to play when the strong yet sweet fragrance of the anise combines with the dry, acrid smell of gunpowder, forming a beautifully coordinated mixture, the substance of human reality.”
Text written by Neila Mhiri and translated by Anne Marie Butler
