Performance by Rafram Chaddad (invited by Martha Kirszenbaum)

As a self-taught artist and culinary expert with a particular interest in the Judeo-Arabic cuisine of North Africa, Rafram Chaddad transposes the function of the hammam into a place not only of care and relaxation, but also of food and sharing. For one afternoon, he took over Marseille's Zein hammam, located near the Old Port, and offered to cook and serve dishes to customers during their treatments. To do this, he uses elements of Tunisian culture, such as Meddeb cider, foutas, terracotta and pots engraved in the tradition of Djerba, where he is originally from, and broadcasts sounds recorded in hammams in Tunis, including the 15th-century Halfaouine Hammam. He thus imagines an alternative and a meeting place where people can share their personal customs, in the same way that cooking brings them together.

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.