Thameur Mejri
Beneath The Stains Of Time
April 16 - June 25, 2023
BENEATH THE STAINS OF TIME
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Thameur Mejri blurs the boundaries between public and private in an effort to confront individual and collective values, particularly in contemporary Tunisian society. For this purpose, he takes the human body as a tool to measure both possibilities and prohibitions, making it a central element of his artistic practice. Through his palette and complex compositions Thameur Mejri’s works question the notions of humanism and the construction of human beings on a social scale, by representing several paradoxes that emerge from political and cultural practices. His precise and prolific iconography constitutes a device critical of our relationship with the objects and symbols that surround us in daily life and which impose, whether consciously or not, certain forms of alienation.
THAMEUR MEJRI
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Thameur Mejri investigates complexities of human existence by identifying parallels between paradoxical ideas of violence, innocence, guilt and shame. The human figure acts as a central element throughout his compositions, the vigorous manner in which Mejri places the figure onto the canvas, reflects the relationship between painting and painter, suggesting self-portraits that battle to fully emerge and reveal themselves. There is an interplay between painting and film. He approaches painting as a film director and he films with the vision of a painter, allowing for the qualities of each discipline to manifest upon one another; the chaos and movement in his paintings are a testament of this. The energetic application of colour establishes the atmosphere in this confrontation between heaven and hell, each represented by blue and red. In choosing these colours as a departure point and importantly for their opposing religious connotations of heaven and hell, he confirms the major influence of these symbols, particularly in the Muslim world.
He has exhibited widely, including the Center for Contemporary Art, Detroit, USA, and the MAC Lyon / France.
