SEE DJERBA Project
Across Akros
For SEE Djerba 2026, Hela Doghri presents Across Akros, an installation centered on the knot as both a metaphor and a material practice. Conceived as both a technical gesture and a vessel of memory, the knot becomes the project’s central narrative thread, revealing the ways in which knowledge, labor, and cultural heritage are transmitted through repetitive acts of making.
Developed through field research in Djerba, the project draws on interviews with local artisans and craftspeople including silk weavers, palm weavers, fishermen, and others whose professions rely on knotting techniques. Doghri records their stories while documenting the repetitive hand gestures and textile practices that define their work, transforming these lived experiences into a visual and sculptural language.
The installation consists of four sculptures, each inspired by the story of a different “master of the knot” in Djerba, reflecting traditional practices. Built on metal structures and woven using diverse colors and techniques in an organic manner, the sculptures create a dialogue between the artisans’ embodied knowledge and the artist’s own interpretation of Akros / Entanglement, translating intangible narratives into material form.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Hela Doghri is a multidisciplinary artist and cultural activist based in Tunisia whose practice is rooted in the exploration of materials and their inherent capacity for expression. Trained in Ceramics (National Center of Ceramic Art, Sidi Kacem Jleizi) and Fashion Design, her work utilizes these physical disciplines to investigate the properties of matter and its transformative potential, drawing inspiration from architectural forms, raw materials, and collective memory.
Her methodology centers on giving material form to intangible concepts, often engaging with themes obscured from public discourse. This was powerfully exemplified by the collaborative installation “Entre Deux Silences” (DSC), which combined sculpture, sound, and collage photography to explore narratives related to sexual and reproductive health. Further engaging with the trace of human labor, her site-specific projection in Matmata detailed the textures of earth, weaving threads, and the tradition of “Tapis making”, linking raw material to cultural heritage.
Gallery not found.INTERVIEW
The exhibition becomes a dialogue between their lived practice and my artistic interpretation of entanglement Interview with Hela Doghri
EXHIBITIONS
“Noce de platine” 2026
“Entre Deux Silences” 2025
STUDIES
BIO
Born and based in Tunisia.
LINKS