EN
"1985, I step into the Henson garden through the prickly pear hedge that protected the property. Shielded by the density of the vegetation, only the proximity of the guard could jeopardise my clandestine visit. I discover a place where plants interlace and compete with one another, clinging to eucalyptus and acacia, a refuge for peacocks. I walk openly along the long sandy path bordered with cypress trees that leads to a pond. A flight of steps rises toward the bushes of the small dune that borders the beach. Safe from the danger of being caught in the act, I notice, from afar, a silhouette. A few months later, I return and ring the bell at the wrought-iron gate..."
FR
"1985, j’entre dans le jardin Henson par la haie de figuiers de Barbarie qui protégeait la propriété. Camouflé par la densité de la végétation, seule la proximité du gardien mettait en péril ma visite clandestine. Je découvre un lieu où les plantes s'enlacent et rivalisent entre elles en s’accrochant aux eucalyptus ou aux acacias, refuge des paons. Je marche à découvert sur la longue allée de sable bordée de cyprès qui mène à un bassin. Une volée de marches mène jusqu’aux buissons de la petite dune qui borde la plage. Hors de danger d’être pris sur le fait, je remarque de loin, une silhouette. Quelques mois plus tard, je reviens sonner au portail en fer forgé."
-Jellel Gasteli
Opening 12.12.25 at 5PM
Born 1958. Tunis, Tunisia
Lives and works in Tunis, Tunisia
Jellel Gasteli is a prominent photographer whose practice is closely tied to Africa, the Maghreb region, the Mediterranean, the Sahara, as well as to his French-Tunisian heritage. His photographic approach was once grounded in large-scale black-and-white silver prints and transitioned to digital photography through an appropriation of colour. He considers photography a form of subtractive abstraction drawn from reality, using it in a strict, unembellished manner to provoke a shift in perception.
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