Hmenou

Taakhor Teknoulougi (2024)

Created for Thomas Egoumenides' exhibition "Extracting the Salt from my Tears" in Riyadh, this sound piece explores the complex relationship between technological progress and cultural memory. The work centers around a haunting phrase from Tunisia's first president, Habib Bourguiba - "taakhor teknoulougi" (technology lag) - which becomes both the foundation and the ghost haunting the composition.

The piece mirrors Egoumenides' artistic approach of transforming and recontextualizing materials, but through sound rather than physical matter. By manipulating and fragmenting Bourguiba's voice, I create a sonic landscape that reflects on the tensions between technological advancement and societal development, particularly relevant to both Tunisia's past and Saudi Arabia's rapidly evolving present.

Like my other works that incorporate historical audio elements, this piece continues my exploration of how political speech and archival material can be transformed into something both dissonant and poetic. The repetition and degradation of the phrase “taakhor teknoulougi” throughout the track creates a hypnotic effect that echoes the exhibition’s themes of transformation and the blurring of temporal boundaries. This collaboration with Egoumenides highlights our shared interest in reimagining existing materials – whether physical or sonic – to create new narratives about progress, memory, and change.

The work serves as both a standalone sound piece and a crucial element of the exhibition's immersive environment, where past and future converge in unexpected ways.

Amma Quartet ? (2024)

In this experimental sound art piece, I explore the concept of music as a language through an unconventional lens. Inspired by the notion of musical translation, I set out to reimagine Vivaldi's iconic "Four Seasons" in the auditory language of 1990s Tunisian television.

To create this soundscape, I selected four distinct audio sources from that era:

- The 1999 Tunisian Cup final between Club Africain and l'Esperance Sportive de Tunis
- A national TV news broadcast from March 1, 1992
- An episode of the Arabic version of "Pif and Hercules"
- An industrial accident prevention TV campaign advertisement

Each part of these audio sources corresponds to a specific note in Vivaldi's composition, effectively replacing the traditional instruments. For instance, a snippet from the football match might represent a violin note, while a fragment from the news broadcast could stand in for a cello.
Together, they form a quartet that plays Vivaldi's masterpiece in a language entirely its own – the sonic palette of 1990s Tunisian media.

This piece challenges our perception of musical structure and composition.
By reconstructing a classical Western composition using the soundscape of Tunisian broadcast media, I invite listeners to experience a familiar piece in an entirely new context. The work questions the nature of musical translation and explores how the meaning and emotion of a piece can be transformed when rendered in a different 'language'.

60VPM (2017 – present)

"60VPM" (2017-present) is my ongoing video series that challenges the dominance of visual content in contemporary media consumption. Each episode, confined to a one-minute duration, is made of a rapid succession of one-second sequences, creating a pulsating rhythm of 60 beats per minute.

Through this work, I critically examine the shifting landscape of audiovisual perception in the age of social media.
By employing a fragmented visual narrative primarily shot in Tunis, I subvert traditional viewing expectations, redirecting focus to the often-neglected auditory component of video content.

When I initiated this project in 2017, it stood as a provocative commentary on the diminishing role of sound in online video consumption, with studies indicating that 85% of Facebook videos were watched on mute. However, the emergence of platforms like TikTok has since normalized rapid-fire content delivery, inadvertently aligning with 60VPM's once-radical format.

As the media landscape evolves, so too does my work. I continue to explore and adapt the project, questioning how to maintain its critical edge in an era where its initially jarring approach has become mainstream. 60VPM stands as a living document of our changing relationship with audiovisual media, inviting viewers to reconsider the balance between sight and sound in the digital age.

DubbleTrubble (2024)

In this work, I continue my exploration of the diminishing role of audio in our increasingly visual-centric media landscape. This 1.5-minute video piece presents a striking juxtaposition that challenges viewers' perceptions and habits in consuming audiovisual content.

The audio track features an interview with Mohamed, a Tunisian cab driver and mezwed singer, as he eloquently explains the nuanced difference between a singer and a "motrob" (a diva).

However, the visual component tells a different story. Instead of seeing Mohamed, we watch Khadija, a young Tunisian woman, seemingly speaking these words from the comfort of a cozy apartment sofa.
This deliberate mismatch creates an absurd and thought-provoking contrast: a woman's image paired with a man's voice, set against the ambient sounds of bustling Tunisian streets.

The piece is designed to highlight how easily we can be misled when we prioritize visuals over audio, especially in an era where silent video consumption with subtitles has become the norm.

By presenting this audiovisual dissonance, I invite viewers to question their viewing habits and the authenticity of the content they consume. The work serves as a poignant reminder of the rich information and context we miss when we neglect the audio component of media, urging us to reconsider the balance between sight and sound in our digital interactions.