LAND OF PERMIT

  • Artist Asma Laajimi
  • Technical: HD color video, Stereo Courtesy Asma Laajimi
  • Duration: 6'05"
  • Year of production: 2021 / Première
  • Country: Tunisia
From a summer routine; a swim with her father, Asma Laajimi traces the journey of an urban space that cradled her childhood and that she sees disintegrating little by little into a post-apocalyptic space. Through « Land of permit », the artist reflects on the harsh realities of her home town, Sousse. The city has been hit not only by the abandonment of its seasonal dynamics, but also by a parasitic coldness of a careless government. It suffers physical disintegration and continues to absorb decisional toxins that seep deep into its land and sea. With an alarmed yet passive gaze, the artist sails through space in her happy footsteps, hoping to find a memory she could recognise from a time that seems so far away in this ghostly city.

Asma Laajimi

Asma Laajimi Born in Sousse in 1999, lives and works in Tunis From a young age, having a camera was a way for Asma Laajimi to portray her emotions and generate visual narratives. This practice shaped her mind to become a photographer and filmmaker. In 2019, she held her first solo exhibition "Fish that are learning to swim" at El Birou Gallery and she dedicated herself to making video installations by taking part in festivals such as SEE Djerba the media art festival, Novembre Numérique at the French Institute x El birou and Ecologic Design project. Her latest short film "Eau et Soleil" (2020), filmed during the confinement, was selected to participate in "Confilmés" by the Goethe Institut Tunisia and wo