Amir Chelly
The marsh of Monastir (in Tunisia) is a favorable environment for a delegation of migratory birds such as "flamingos", as well as many other types of birds such as ducks and various types of gulls. Despite the construction of the airport and the metro line that crosses the marsh, the birds have remained attached to this ecological station and have not abandoned it. One of the characteristics of this bird is that it forms incubators, as some husbands stay to guard the chicks, while the others start bringing food from nearby slums and distant places to return to their seat to feed their young at sunset. This place is then associated with birth, fertility and life.
Due to the sewage being poured into this lake, the number of birds gradually decreased and the birds' nests became empty.
This problem inspired me to create my project. According to different cultures, the egg is considered a symbol of life, fertility and the victory of the love of life over the darkness of death. According to Finnish legend, the egg is the beginning of the universe or the beginning in which the universe was born.
The legend says that the goddess "Luonnotar" spent her life alone in the vast emptiness of space. Then she fell from the sky to the earth. Then the seagull came from the distant horizon, and on her lap she built her nest. Then the goddess felt a heat flowing through her body, as if her knee was burning and her veins were melting, the bird laid her eggs on her knee, which trembled, then the eggs rolled on the water and were broken. From the lower part of the eggs was formed the earth, mother of all beings; from their upper part, the sublime sky; from their yellow parts, the radiant sky; from their white part, the bright moon; their speckled debris became stars; their black debris the clouds of the air. "Luonnotar" continued the process of creation, creating the seas, bays and shores, and the depths of the oceans.
From this legend I began my project . I made a sculpture in the shape blue phoenix with two large wings protruding from its head, The phoenix bird symbolizes immortality, resurrection and life after death but this time the bird is weak and his heart is bleeding , I chose the blue to be in harmony with the blue of the sky and the marshes, and to contrast with the color of the ground. Then I distributed a group of gypsum eggs among the marsh grass, indicating that this place is the source of life, fertility and birth so we should protect it and stop polluting it . I colored the eggs blue, referring to male birth, pink to female birth, and purple gradient, which is the mix between pink and blue for other sexual orientations. Then I took photographs of the installation to document it, as the final work will be in the form of photographs, as I have no desire to leave the installation in the marsh or to make the marsh an open exhibition space where I wish to preserve the purity and tranquility of the place and its vitality without leaving a trace, as I am ultimately interested in the images that perpetuate the trace.
