Boujmal Sihem

Nicène Kossentini's black and white portraits are comprised of women drawn from old family albums. The young girl is placed against a salt lake in Sfax, Tunisia. The language on the horizon is derived from Arab poetry used during Jahiliya (Pre-Islamic age) which has become nearly extinct. For Kossentini, the calligraphy and central figure have fallen into the abyss of memory and time. It is the salt from the lake that will protect and preserve the memories alongside the passage of time . For Kossentini these 'secret gardens' bloom in her native lake where the journey of the past and the future are forever unforgotten .