Nicène Kossentini

Nicène Kossentini is a tunisian artist, living and working in Tunis, Tunisia and Paris, France Born in Tunis, 1976.
She studied in the Academy of Fine Arts in Tunis, at the Marc Bloch University in Strasbourg and at the Sorbonne University in Paris. During the first edition of the International Digital Media in France, she was interned at the Studio National des Arts Contemporains Le Fresnoy and at l'École de l'Image Les Gobelins. Currently, she is assistant professor of experimental cinema at the University of Tunis.
Nicène works have been shown all over the world in art galleries, fairs and institutions such as Art Dubai, Marrakech Art Fair, Institut du Monde Arabe (Paris), Círculo de Bellas Artes (Madrid), Museum of Boulogne Billancourt (France), National Museum of Carthague (Tunisia), Museum of Contemporary art of Algiers (Algeria), Bamako Biennale, Alexandria Biennale, Tunis Biennale and Thessaloniki Biennale.
Her work is present in prominent public collections such as The British Museum, Kamel Lazaar Foundation or the Museum of Modern Art in Tunis, Tunisia.
Nicène's approach
Mindful of her heritage and past, Nicène Kossentini seeks to uncover the lost links and buried truths of its culture and its origins. Her work thus addresses concerns of Tunisian society which have to live with a memory that tends to freeze, to flaten and become lost.
In her videos, Kossentini captures, picture by picture, the slow transformation of people and things, to reveal intimate places and bodies.
Each work is an invitation to enter into symbiosis with an uncertain and close living space. She creates singular atmospheres with minimalist escenographies, highlighting contrasts in black and white and semi visible areas. Her videos capture sights and faces about to extinct, hipnotizing the viewer's look that is sustained in wait for an inminent event. The deliberate slow movement of the camera restores the phenomenological dimension of time to better suggest the sensation of becoming a strangely enigmatic place.
In her recent videos, the artist pursues the uncertainty of the look on the viewer against his vision habits and prejudices, placing off the camera what could be a subject.
She raises the problem of identity and its elusive landmark.
Solo shows
2020
Memorising. Sabrina Amrani Gallery. Madrid, Spain
2019
I remember the recommendations of Mr. President. Selma Feriani Gallery. Tunis, Tunisia.
2017
They abused her by saying,2012. Lateral Velázquez, Sabrina Amrani courtesy. Madrid, Spain.
2016
Fugitive.Casa Árabe Córdoba. Córdoba, Spain.
2016
Fugitive.Sabrina Amrani Gallery. Madrid, Spain.
2015
Dispersal. Muratcentoventidue. Bari, Italy.
2014
The Flight of the Butterfly or the Myth of Icarus Revisited. Curated by Christine Buci-Glucksmann. Selma Feriani Gallery. Tunis, Tunisia.
2014
Histoires en 5 Haltes. Curated by Djalila Cadi-Hanifi. Urban installation. Algiers, Algeria.
2012
Paraître, Galeria Sabrina Amrani, Madrid Spain.
2011
Boujmal, Selma Feriani Gallery, London, UK.
2010
They abused her by saying…, La boîte Espace d'art contemporain, Tunis, Tunisia.
2009
What the water gave me, Galerie Ammar Farhat, Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia.
Group shows
2021
Long Story Short. Sabrina Amrani. Madrid, Spain.
2020
Au-delà des apparences. Les Abbatoirs. Toulouse, France.
2020
Ver Versus Ver II. Sabrina Amrani Gallery. Madrid, Spain.
2020
Ver Versus Ver. Sabrina Amrani Gallery. Madrid, Spain.
2019
12th edition of the Bamako Encounters – African Biennial of Photography.
2019
Climbing Through the Tide. Curated by Basak Senova. Inaugural exhibition of B7L9, Kamel Lazaar Foundation. Tunis, Tunisia.
2017
Qu’avons nous fait de nos rêves?Musée Slaoui. Casablanca, Morocco.
2017
El Iris de Lucy.Centro Altántico de Arte Moderno. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
2016
Feminart II.Espacio Turina. Sevilla, Spain.
2016
El Iris de Lucy. Musée Départemental d’Art Contemporain de Rochechouart. Rochechouart, France.
2016
Effervescence. Curated by Michket Krifa. Institut des Cultures d’Islam. Paris, France.
2016
El Iris de Lucy. Curated by Orlando Britto-Jinorio. MUSAC. León, Spain.
2015
Moving Image Art Across the Arab World. Malmö Konsthall. Malmö, Sweden.
2014
Entre nosotros (Between us): Video Art from the Middle East and North Africa in a global culture Curated by Sabrina Amrani. Etopia Center for the Arts and Technology. Zaragoza, Spain.
2014
Songs of Loss and Songs of Love. Curated by Sam Bardaouil and Tim Fellrath. Gwangju Museum of Art. Gwangju, South Korea.
2014
Please rewind!. Sabrina Amrani Gallery. Madrid, Spain.
2014
Recreational Purpose.Bahrain National Museum. Manama, Bahrain.
2014
The Divine Comedy; Heaven, Hell, Purgatory by contemporary African artists. MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst. Curated by Simon Njami. Frankfurt, Germany.
2013
Portraits, Selma Feriani Gallery, London, UK.
2013
25 years of arab creativity, The National Museum of Bahrain, Manama, Bahrain.
2013
Still fighting ignorance & intellectual perfidy, Kunsthalle São Paulo, Brazil.
2013
The after revolution, The FIAF Gallery, New York, USA.
2013
Videoformes, Video Art Festival, Clermont-Ferrand, France.
2012
Rosige Zunkunft, ifa-Galerie, Berlin Germany.
2012
Still fighting ignorance & Intellectual Perfidy, Video art from Africa Curated by Kisito Assangni, Pori Art Museum, Finland.
2012
25 années de la créativité arabe, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France.
2012
Still fighting ignorance & Intellectual Perfidy, AIVA, Angelholm International Video Art Festival, Angelholm, Sweden.
2012
Cuerpos,Sabrina Amrani Gallery, Festival "Miradas de mujeres, Madrid, Spain.
2012
Degagements la Tunisie un après, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France.
2011
Photoquai, the Biennale of World Images, Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, France.
2011
Magreb: Dos Orillas, Circulo de Bellas Artes, Madrid, Spain.
2011
Images Affranchies, Marrakech Art Fair, Marrakech, Morocco.
2011
Traversée, Palais des Archevêques, Narbonne, France.
2011
No Sky, No earth.Snow falls ceaselessly, Dar Mima, Tunis, Tunisia.
2010
Dialogue among civilizations, Durban Gallery, South Africa.
2010
Split,Darb center, Cairo, Egypt.
2009
Aftermath, 25th Alexandria Biennale for Mediterranean countries, Alexandria, Egypt.
2009
Periferiks, Can, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
2009
The 2nd Thessaloniki Biennal of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, Greece.
2009
Looking inside out, Africa in Oslo, Kunstnernes Haus, Norway.
2009
AllArtNow, first edition of the International video art festival, Damas, Syria.
2008
Reorientations, Arab contemporary art, Brussels, Belgium.
2008
Video Art, Liteside Festival, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
2008
Without borders, Hispano/Maghreb Artistic Convergences, Thirtieth Pontevedra Art, Pontevedra, Spain.
2008
Mirage, Fifth Art Biennale of Tunis for Mediterranean countries, Tunis, Tunisia.
2008
2nd edition of the International meetings of Photography, Fes, Morocco.
2008
Women of images - Private Space, Museum of Boulogne Billancourt, France.
2008
L'Art au féminin, Museum of Contemporary art of Algiers, Algeria.
2007
The city and beyond, 7th edition of the African Biennale of Photography, Bamako, Mali.
2007
Women of images - Private Space, Museum of Tunis Kheireddine Palace, Tunis, Tunisia.
2006
The revealed image, orientalism / contemporary art, Museum of Tunis Kheireddine Palace, Tunis, Tunisia.
Art Fairs
2023
Abu Dhabi Art. Sabrina Amrani. Abu Dhabi, UAE.
2022
Abu Dhabi Art. Sabrina Amrani. Abu Dhabi, UAE.
2022
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair. Sabrina Amrani. Paris, France.
2021
ARCOmadrid. Sabrina Amrani. Madrid, Spain.
2020
Abu Dhabi Art. Sabrina Amrani. Online.
2017
Art Dubai. Sabrina Amrani, Dubai, UAE. (solo)
2016
1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair London, UK.
2016
Art Brussels. Sabrina Amrani, Belgium, Brussels.
2016
Art Dubai. Sabrina Amrani, Dubai, UAE.
2016
ARCOmadrid. Sabrina Amrani, Madrid, Spain.
2015
1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair. Sabrina Amrani, Selma Feriani Gallery; Londres, Reino Unido.
2015
ArtInternational. Sabrina Amrani. Estambul, Turquía.
2014
Paris Photo. Selma Feriani Gallery, Paris, France.
2014
1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair. Selma Feriani Gallery, London, UK.
2014
Art14. Sabrina Amrani Gallery, London, UK.
2013
Artissima. Sabrina Amrani Gallery, Turin, Italy.
2013
Art Dubai, Sabrina Amrani Gallery, Selma Feriani Gallery; Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE.
2012
Art Dubai, Selma Feriani Gallery, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE .
Residencies
2018
The Fountainhead Residency. Miami, USA.
2016
Kooshk Residency. Tehran, Iran.
2016
Residency Casa Árabe. Córdoba, Spain. (2nd part)
2015
Residency Casa Árabe. Córdoba, Spain. (1st part)
2013
Residency Project/ Invitation by the Ministry of Culture of Bahrain to produce a photographic project, Bahrain.
2012
A.R.I.A/ Artist Residency in Algiers, Algeria.
Public collections
The British Museum. London, UK.
Fondation Blachère. France.
Sindika Dokolo Foundation. Luanda, Angola.
Kamel Lazaar Foundation. Tunis, Tunisia.
Museum of Modern Art. Tunis, Tunisia.
Publications
In/Visible Voices of Women, artist book on Safaa Erruas, Nadia Kaabi-Linke, Nicene Kossentini, Amina Menia, Zineb Sedira. Published by Clelia Coussonnet & Missla Libsekal. 2019.
Three Tunisian Women Artists: Nicène Kossentini, Mouna Karray and Moufida Fedhila. Published by Michele Cohen Hadria. KT Press. 2013. ISBN: 978-0-9536541-8-5