Between photomontage, embroidery, a marriage portrait and an original take on traditional wedding photography, Aïcha Filali produces an irreverent work that presents a bride and groom with all their stereotypical attributes without celebrating them altogether.

Aïcha Filali
Tahar et Nadia
2012-2013
Photomontage imprimé sur tissu et technique mixte à l'aiguille
158 x 118,3 cm
FGA-ACAD-FILAL-0001

Narrated by Olivia Fahmy, collection of African Contemporary Art and of the Diaspora curator

Between photomontage, embroidery, a marriage portrait and an original take on traditional wedding photography, Aïcha Filali produces an irreverent work that presents a bride and groom with all their stereotypical attributes without celebrating them altogether.

Tahar and Nadia are the names given to the protagonists of this photomontage, printed on fabric, by artist Aïcha Filali. The eyes of the two newlyweds are hidden behind large sunglasses, and therefore, they are impossible to identify. With the man sporting a tie and suit, and the woman frills and lace and holding a bouquet, the sartorial clues leave little doubt about the event itself. While they may look like a normal couple, it is clear that the artist chooses not to celebrate them, but instead uses the occasion to reflect on the attributes of this institution, while challenging the stereotypical aspect of Tunisian wedding photographs. This work, executed in the early years of the Arab Spring, when protests were rife in Tunisia with a subsequent ripple effect across Africa, reflects the critical relationship that artists have frequently nurtured towards social institutions, similar to Abdoulaye Konaté in his work Les Fruits de Tunisie. Here, Aïcha Filali calls into question the codes of decorum that regulate Tunisian society, and she expresses this through the outdated, stereotypical, kitsch and somewhat humorous aspect of this scene.