Known for his complex but balanced compositions and for the destructuring of human bodies, Thameur Mejri, a painter from Nabeul, born in 1982 and professor at the School of Fine Arts in Tunis, through Walking Targets, his first exhibition at the Selma Feriani gallery, he explores a political and critical vision of Tunisian society, while engaging the responsibility of the artist with regard to contemporary issues. The title evokes a moving target and immediately places the works in the violence register – or rather the denunciation of violence – but also of survival.

We find in these new series certain constants of Mejri’s work, and in particular his attention to the human body, which he charges with a powerful political interpretation and which he has until now largely developed, especially in his large-format paintings. A change is nevertheless noticeable in the expression of this political body. It is no longer so much a matter of existential and metaphysical questions that occupy him. He seems here to be refining his reflection by working to deconstruct the relations of power and domination that structure contemporary societies, identifying in particular capitalism and the traditional ideologies that make them their instruments of control. (Text by Matthieu Lelièvre)

Courtesy of Selma Feriani Gallery