"The exhibition" constitutes the final chapter of the CREATURE DI SABBIA project. It was hosted in the evocative spaces of the ex Conservatorio Sant'Anna, in Lecce, from January 19 to February 9, 2024. The exhibition accompanied visitors through a highly immersive and emotionally impactful experience, featuring video and sound installations, as well as a variety of references across different media and personal stories.
The project became central to its activities last May, focusing on gender equality and the violated rights of women, twelve years after the Arab Spring. Its aim was to raise awareness and provide both artistic and social education on human rights through art. The project involved four artists of Arab and Middle Eastern origin who reside in Italy for study or work, along with other peers from similar backgrounds, cultures, and religions. These artists are actively engaged in intercultural mediation in Lecce.
The group played a significant role in in-depth exploration, creation, and community engagement. They addressed various aspects related to the oppression and violence faced by women, drawing from disciplines such as narrative, painting, design, photography, cinema, and visual arts. The experience was enriched by sociological, anthropological, and social stimuli. As a culmination of this journey, the four young artists—two Iranians, one Tunisian, and one Moroccan—are now featured in a unique exhibition that unveils their personal experiences and previously unexplored artistic universes.
"The group was at the center of intense exploration and creative activities, as well as open moments for the entire community. They delved into areas where narrative, painting, design, photography, cinema, and visual arts interpret themes related to the oppression and violence against women. Intercultural stimuli of sociological, anthropological, and social nature were not lacking. As a crowning achievement of that experience, the four young artists—two Iranians, one Tunisian, and one Moroccan—are now the protagonists of a unique exhibition that presents their personal experiences and previously unexplored artistic universes.
According to the exhibition curators, Andrea Laudisa and Alice Caracciolo, ‘The sand creature from Ben Jelloun’s novel, which inspired this project, is a mutable, malleable entity capable of redefining itself and resisting external pressures with tenacious strength. It was easy to observe a strong symbolic convergence between the novel’s character and the four artists featured in the exhibition: Tunisian artist Rafika Ferchichi, Moroccan artist Salma Hilmi, and Iranian artists Khathereh Safajoo and Mehrnoosh Roshanaei.
"The approximately six-month journey, accompanied by internationally renowned experts and project curators, led to the formalization or refinement of four works on which the artists were already working. Through a plurality of expressive languages, the artists confronted the rediscovery of their own roots and addressed the perceptual boundaries of cultural diversity by speaking a universal language.
Rafika Ferchichi, daughter and granddaughter of upholsterers, uses jute and asphalt to create carpets into which she incorporates various symbolic materials, in line with her research. These sculptural works serve as symbols of connection between the past and the present, representing an immersion into the artist’s knowledge, history, and personal culture. The carpet symbolizes her intimate space, and Rafika invites the viewer to traverse it—a gesture of liberation, transcending the barriers of individuality to participate in a broader connection where collective memory becomes a point of encounter and sharing.
Mehrnoosh Roshanaei’s video installation pays tribute to the victims of the revolutionary uprising ‘Zan Zendegi Azadi’ (Women, Life, Freedom) in Iran. Through the representation of a lunar eclipse, the 3D animation symbolizes the upheaval and destruction caused by the revolt. The audio component of the work features an off-screen voice of a mother singing a lullaby to her deceased son, followed by a gunshot, bringing tangible human loss and suffering to light. The artist seems to challenge the audience to reflect on the necessity for change, questioning their own position and responsibility in the face of injustices and suffering that afflict society.
Khatereh Safajoo’s artwork is a synthesis of a childhood memory when she used to visit an amusement park in Tehran located near a prison. Testimonies from some inmates, just before their execution, mention the sound of children’s voices who frequented that amusement park and the light from the carousel signs that illuminated the dark cells. The artwork translates into an installation of lights and sounds—an immersive piece that serves as a call to collective consciousness. It addresses the theme of betrayed innocence and the necessity to protect the future of younger generations.
Salma Hilmi’s artwork, on the other hand, originates from a smartphone app designed as a tool for preventing violence against women. Hilmi collected visual and audio testimonies from women, which were then translated into a multimedia installation of texts and sounds. This installation concludes the collective exhibition and engages the audience in an emotional and reflective experience. One of the room’s walls features a mirror—a symbol of introspection and self-reflection. Through this mirror, the artist creates a moment of intimate connection, urging each person to confront their own perception and understanding of gender-based violence.
A central verse from the Quran adorns the installation: “God created humans from a single soul or being,” serving as a powerful appeal for unity against gender violence and emphasizing that every individual, regardless of gender, is an essential part of the same universal soul
