Nicène Kossentini was born in Sfax, Tunisia and currently lives and works between Tunis and Paris. Her artwork is part of an existential quest. It explores the question of memory and forgetfulness in a present characterized by a frenetic speed which impacts our ability to think and dream.
Kossentini's research area draws its resources from her family history, intimate and intergenerational tradition of storytelling, as well as Arabic poetry, literature and philosophy. The artist evokes memory through the interweaving of personal story and collective story using different media: video, photography, drawing, installation and sculpture. The family history is thus a reflection of political and cultural history.
Through her work, she captures sites and faces on the verge of disappearance and invites the viewer to enter contemplative spaces by hypnotizing the gaze as if waiting for an upcoming event. Kossentini's work is marked by signs that whisper the passing of time and its impact on memory, legacy and society. She tries to capture and make visible the imperceptible and transient moment, during which, things are disappearing.
Nicène Kossentini’s work has been exhibited in several international institutions including the MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt, Germany; Gwangju Museum of Art in Gwangju, South Korea; Museo Arte Contemporanea in Ticino, Switzerland; National Centre for Contemporary Arts in Moscow, Russia; and at the Circulo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, Spain.
Diploma of Arts Appliqués Fine Arts Institute of Tunis. Tunis. Tunisia
Diploma of Études Approfondies en Arts Marc Bloch University. Strasbourg. France
Currently Assistant Professor of Experimental Cinema University of Tunis. Tunis. Tunisia
Lives & Works Tunis. Tunisia
Solo Exhibitions
2020 Memorising. Sabrina Amrani Madrid. Spain
2019 Je me souviens des recommandations de Mr le président. Selma Feriani Gallery.Tunis. Tunisia
2016 Fugitive. Casa Árabe. Córdoba. Spain
2015 Dispersal. Muratcentoventidue. Arte Contemporanea. Bari. Italy
2014 The Flight of the Butterfly or the Myth of Icarus Revisited. Curated by Christine Buci Glucksmann. Selma
Feriani Gallery. Tunis. Tunisia
Histoires en 5 Haltes. Curated by Djalila Cadi-Hanifi. Hamma Gallery. Algiers. Algeria
2012 Paraître. Galeria Sabrina Amrani. Madrid. Spain
2011 Boujmal. Selma Feriani Gallery. London. UK
2010 They Abused Her By Saying. La Boite-Espace d’Art Contemporain. Tunis. Tunisia
2009 What Water Gave Me. Ammar Farhat Gallery. Tunis. Tunisia
Selected Group Exhibitions
2020 Au-delà des ApparencesIl était une fois, il sera une fois. Les Abattoirs, Musée - Frac Occitanie Toulouse.
France
Untitled. Selma Feriani Gallery. Tunis. Tunisia
Ver versus ver. Sabrina Amrani. Madrid. Spain
2019 12th edition of the Bamako Encounters – African Biennial of Photography.
Climbing Through the Tide. Curated by Basak Senova. Inaugural exhibition of B7L9. Kamel Lazaar
Foundation. Tunis. Tunisia.
2017 Qu’avons nous fait de nos rêves? Musée Slaoui. Casablanca. Morocco.
El Iris de Lucy. Centro Altántico de Arte Moderno. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Spain.
2016 Feminart II. Espacio Turina. Sevilla. Spain.
Effervescence. Curated by Michket Krifa. Institut des Cultures d’Islam. Paris. France
L’Iris de Lucy. Musée Départamental d’art Contemporain de Rochechouart.Rochechouart. France
L’Iris de Lucy. Contemporary African Women Artists. MUSAC. Leon. Spain
Art Dubai Film. Dubai. U.A.E.
2015 Moving Image Art Across the Arab World. Malmö Konsthall. C-Salen. Malmö. Sweden
2014 Recreational Purpose. Bahrain National Museum. Manama. Bahrain
The Divine Comedy; Heaven. Hell. Purgatory by contemporary African artists. MMK
Museum für Moderne Kunst. Curated by Simon Njami. Frankfurt. Germany
Songs of Loss and Songs of Love. Curated by Sam Bardaouil and Tim Fellrath.
Gwangju Museum of Art.Gwangju. South Korea
2013 Portraits. Selma Feriani Gallery. London. UK
25 years of Arabic Creativity. Institut du Monde Arabe. Paris. France
Still Fighting Ignorance & Intellectual Perfidy. Pori Art Museum. Finland
2012 Rosige Zukunf t . I fa-Galerie. Berl in. Germany
Chkoun Ahna. Carthage Museum. Tunis. Tunisia
Festival Miradas de Mujeres. Madrid. Spain
AIVA. Angelholm International Video Art Festival. Angelholm. Sweden
Frontières. B’chira Art Center. Tunis. Tunisia
Dégagements. Institut du Monde Arabe. Paris. France
2011 Toquai. Biennale de photo de Paris. Musée Quai Branly. Paris. France
Magreb Dos Orillas. Circulo de Bellas Artes. Madrid. Spain
Traversée. Palais des Archevêques. Narbonne. France
No Sky. No Earth. Snow Falls Ceaselessly. Dar Mima. Tunisia
2010 Dialogue Among Civilizations. Durban. South Africa
Ils l’ont leurrée en disant... La boîte Espace d’art contemporain. Tunis. Tunisia
Split. Darb Centre. Cairo. Egypt
2009 Aftermath. The 25th Alexandria Biennial. Alexandria. Egypt
Forms and Topographies: African Cityscape in Flux. Berlin. Germany
La Rue. Ammar Farhat Gallery. Tunis. Tunisia
Périfériks. Centre d'art Neuchâtel. Neuchâtel. Switzerland
The 2nd Thessaloniki Biennal of Contemporary Art. Thessaloniki. Greece
Looking Inside Out. Kunstnernes Haus. Oslo. Norway
1st International Video Art Festival. AllArtNow. Damas. Syria
2008 Reorientations. Contemporary Arab Representations. Brussels. Belgium
Le portrait. Ammar Farhat Gallery. Tunis. Tunisia
Liteside Festival. Amsterdam. The Netherlands
Without Borders.Thirtieth Biennial of Art of Pontevedra. Pontevedra. Spain
Fifth Mediterranean Biennial of Arts. Tunis. Tunisia
2nd Edition of the International Meetings of the Photography. Fes. Morocco
Women of Images: Private Space. Museum of Boulogne. Billancourt. France
L'Art au féminin. Museum of Contemporary Art. Algiers. Algeria
2007 The City and Beyond. African Meetings of Photography. Bamako. Mali
Women of Images: Private Space. Museum of Tunis Kheireddine Palace. Tunis. Tunisia
2006 The Revealed Image. Orientalism / Contemporary Art. Museum of Tunis Kheireddine Palace. Tunis. Tunisia
Collections
British Museum. United Kingdom
Fondation Blachère. France
Kamel Lazaar Foundation. Tunisia
Museum of Modern Art. Tunis. Tunisia
Sindika Dokolo Foundation. Angola
Selected Residencies
2020 Elizabeth Krief and Jacques Manardo Residency. New York/ USA
2018 The Fountainhead. Miami. U.S.A.
2016 Second Rybon International Artists Workshop. Iran
2013 Ministry of Culture Residency. Bahrain
2012 A.R.I.A/ Artist Residency in Algiers. Algeria