2024
Gramma's Courtyard (Dar Mima)
Ghanmi’s father rests beneath the fig tree in his grandmother’s courtyard in Béja. Painted on unprimed canvas, the work recalls the red floor and the generations of family life that passed through this house.
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The story behind the painting
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About the painting
A fast and emotional painting. Very personal as it depicts one of the spaces that are dearest to me. The courtyard in my gramma's old traditional home is where most life happened. Before its transformation in the 2000s, Oust Eddar - or courtyard - saw generations of Ghanmis grow and flourish. My grandmother spent most of her life in this house, situated in the old part of Béja, North West of Tunisia. The painting is an attempt to capture my father having a nap under the fig tree. Red was the actual colour of the floor. Most Tunisian families would quickly connect with this space as it probably evokes similar if not identical memories.
The brushstrokes are fast and somewhat chaotic, this is due to the fact that the brush was old and damaged and also because this all painted on the back of an canvas. The unprimed side can be unforgiving as it doesn't allow for any corrections. This is perfect for me when I paint old fading memories.
Medium: Oil on Unprimed Canvas
Measurements: 100x100cm
Why it was painted
One of my missions is to capture moments in the time of my people. Immortalizing them so I and my sons may revisit them whenever we need to.