
Gymnasium (Pictorial, Blue), 2020
Ben Hamouda’s series Gymnasium represents the attempt to portray the complexities and contradictions of the phenomenon of cultural assimilation, a process through which an individual or a group abandons their own culture and tries to take on the dominant one, forgoing their heritage. Dedicated to this process, the sculpture, a daughter of two cultures, offers a portrait of a hybrid living between the biblical story of St. Agatha and the complex abstraction of Islamic art. In an attempt to create a symbol, the silicone breasts resting on a mirrored surface transform into something magical or religious through calligraphic ink markings.
Gymnasium, a Latin term, refers to a place of exercise, a preparatory space to study more advanced theories and skills. This practice contributes to the consolidation of a faculty and thus of assimilation. Ben Hamouda’s Gymnasium is a sculptural exercise that holds an entirely critical space, while still practicing and training within canonical genres such as still life, figuration, calligraphy and more.

Monia Ben Hamouda, Gymnasium (Pictorial, Blue), 2020 Glass, ink, steel, silicone, acrylic paint, 32x32x28cm

