Participatory culinary performance by Rafram Chaddad with an Old Port fishmonger (invited by Martha Kirszenbaum)

Rafram Chaddad's performance with a fishmonger from the Vieux Port is inspired by the fish markets of Djerba, the Tunisian island where the artist grew up. Djerbian fishmongers traditionally sell their fish by auction, as in an auction house: they collect the fish, tie them together with a thread made from a palm branch, and wait for the Award to rise. The figure of the hand holding a fish also appears in many ancient wall paintings, depicting a hand holding 5 fish, a symbol to combat the evil eye. In Marseille, a port city with many similarities to Djerba, including its fish culture, the artist invited a local fishmonger to recreate a fish auction. The fishmonger will shout out his fish, and the audience will bid for the best Award.

Rafram Chaddad

Born in Djerba, Tunisia, in 1976, Rafram Chaddad is an artist whose photographs, films and multimedia installations rethink archives, migration narratives and what it means to belong. Based in Tunis, he reflects his personal life experiences and comments on broader socio-political issues, including food, exile, identity and belonging. Over the past twenty years, he has produced dozens of short films and installations, which have been exhibited at the Mucem in Marseille, the Forum Maximilien in Munich and B7L9 in Tunis.