Black Couscous 2014-2018
Black Couscous was exhibited in a few venues. in Halle14 in Leipzig, in kunstraum Brooklyn and on a rooftop in Jerusalem.
The work tells the story of the local histories of the industrialization of wheat in Tunisia and the political and ancestral genealogical consequences. The history of wheat within my family started when it was introduced in our region through trade. My maternal grandfather, Simah, had a shop of grains in suq sidi bahri in the center of Tunis. Once he saw that rich families were buying the white processed wheat, that subsequently became “better” within the hierarchy of grains and therefore he brought it home. The outcome of this switch was devastating and is still impacting members of my family’s health. This was part of a historical process that happened mostly in the 3rd world regions (circa 1950) that affected trade and a diet transition to sugar and processed food. My mother's side of the family are indigenous to the land in south Tunisia. They lived there for more than 2700 years in a traditionally enclosed community, their diet was based mostly on local wheat for the making of couscous and bread. The story of indigenous community that survived for thousands of years on the diet of a single grain and didn’t develop any immunity to other sources of food is the story that simultaneously exists in other regions in the world such as the Americas and the sub Saharan Africa.
In the beginning of the 70s, before I was born, my mother lost her parents who died from diabetes. My mother and all her siblings inherited the diabetes as well and me and my siblings do periodic checks for diabetes.
The work started to build during the monumental exhibition in Leipzig (2013) in Halle 14 titled the politics and pleasures and food curated by Frank Motz. This project evolved and took different form each time it was installed. Last installment took place on a rooftop in Jerusalem, with a 3 month process of planting barley plants on a 12 meters round field. Five giant wooden sieves covered with fruits and vegetables to dry and a ceremonial setup. Visitors climbed to the roof, took off their shoes, washed their hands, and let in groups of 5 people to the center of the field, where I was sitting. I would pick up dried fruits and vegetables and mix them with a fast couscous I made from barley. Serve it inside a lettuce field to each of my guests and for 15 minutes we talked. Mostly about the work, its history, about food politics and politics. It all happened for 7 days and a total of 1100 people participated in the work.
Mixed media agronomic
12 meters of squared soil, 3 months old barley plants; five two-meter wide wooden sieves; foutas; water
Leipzig (2014)
Brooklyn (2017)
Jerusalem (2018)