The Same Moon Above Us: A Tunisian Tale, is a new photography and illustration book filled with stills that were lensed by up-and-coming talent from the country and its diaspora. At its heart, this wide-ranging collection, which is edited by Estelle Marois, celebrates and examines the diversity of what it is to be Tunisian while overturning and shifting colonial perspectives. From the hijab wearing ladies in Jawher Ouni’s documentation of the birthplace of the Arab Spring, Sidi Bouzid, to the women frolicking in the sea in Souheila Gorbel’s romantic shots that ache with nostalgia, these photographers are using their craft to spin their own narratives.

Oumayma B. Tanfous, whose style you might be familiar with from issue 2 of Nataal magazine, invites us into her family home with an intensely personal series in which the photographer plays the part of an outsider, looking in. While in Safouane Ben Slama’s linked imagery of locations from Palestine to Cuba, he presents a shared vision and a kind of solidarity. Below, in their own words, these artists and more let us into the secret of their work.

Souheila Ghorbel

“A coffee and a millefeuille - that was my ritual in the train station of Mateur, my mother's hometown, every time I visited my grandparents.

This same taste came back to me in front of the same train station 20 years later when I discovered a romantic tag funnily written:

‘you, are, so, special, to, me Malek

Always, remember, that'

Which gave me a feeling of pleasure for the taste of the cream and bitterness for the time passing by.

Perhaps it is simply the taste of nostalgia.

This same station also testifies to an encounter and often to a goodbye, the very specificity of the universe: life and death.

An encounter, a memory, an image and finally a trace.

The nostalgia is the immaterial form of a memory and sometimes the oblivion. The photography is its material form.

The photography power is to mark moments, faces, sensations, forms and as for a book it would be a bookmark.

Sometimes when we come back to these bookmarks after a certain time, we forget the last lines, but very quickly the memory of the words takes us and a sensation of déjà vu seizes our body. A feeling of a memory already forgotten.”

Jawher Ouni

“Growing up in Tunisia, you can only be influenced by the differences between people - their mindsets, beliefs, cultures. Discovering oneself through one’s environment is crucial and, the more people travel, the more they learn about themselves. In the summer of 2019, I spent a month documenting the place where I was raised, the birthplace of the Arab Spring, Sidi Bouzid.

I have always known this dry environment. I went a lot during bank and school holidays when I was a kid and know these people. They have been doing the same handcraft which they inherited from their ancestors. Most of them are my cousins who work in the fields and who are very attached to their land. I respect their relationship with it, how they talk about it, how they take care of it. I am so proud I grew up in that artistically rich and resilient area that has shaped the person I am today.”

Sana Badri

“Throughout the month of October 2018, we put up a vinyl photo backdrop of ambiguous mountain scenery outside a temporary community gallery space on Church Street in Edgware Road, and asked passers-by to stop for a portrait. They could then come back and collect their free portraits a week later. I really was not prepared for the way the portraits would unfold.

The intention of the project was to provide a small break in the daily routines of members of the Church Street community, remind everyone how great they look, and capture split seconds of joy or intimacy. The scenic backdrop allowed for the images to convey the richness of this area without focusing on the other backdrop of immense wealth gaps in the local areas housing.

The photo series serves as a reminder of the boundless beauty and vulnerability in our communities. And that even the most stone-faced uncle on the high street wants to look cute sometimes.”

Oumayma B. Tanfous

“This series of photos was taken between 2012 and 2016 and is an ongoing project. Following the passing of my dear grandfather in 2011, I returned to Tunisia for the first time after 10 years of exile. I created each picture in specific places between Tunis and Kerkennah. Most of them are from my last visit in the fall of 2016, a year and a half before my grandmother left us. These are pieces of my childhood memories, moments with family members, where I wonder around places and objects that marked my youth. I observe every detail as if I were a spectator of my own story.”

Kaïs Dhifi

“Throughout my numerous travels and while living abroad, I developed a particular interest in fantastic realism. I transcend the visual language of my direct environment and generate an alternate narrative challenging time, space and inherent perceptions. Through the medium of photography, I capture the uniqueness of empty landscapes, once occupied by unknown beings who left behind puzzling artefacts.”

Safouane Ben Slama

“In this selection of images, I wanted to share a representative set of my work over the past few years. I strive to constitute a form of collective imagination, which starts from a very real and concrete element to nurture the possibility of a common whole. It was important to me to deliver images of Tunisia of course, but also of Cuba, Palestine and Algeria. I explore spaces that interrogate the ideas of side-lines and territory, unveiling the marks and gestures of their occupiers, especially the young ones, as they come together.”

Salem Jabou

“In 2019, I spent three months in Tunisia. I connected again with the daily life and passage. It led me to encounter themes and characters holding the imperfections together, which resulted in this photo series.”

Nyzar Trabxlsi

“The illustrations I selected are a reflection of a particular part of Tunisian culture that I strongly identify with: the working class. In this compilation, I see a technical evolution of my practice happening within a variation on this theme. I create art while keeping in mind the notion that each viewer has a different way of decrypting the work’s message. A kid might see vibrant colours while an adult might see social commentary. The postcards in particular speak to this. There is an obvious tongue-in-cheek sarcasm that might go over a child’s head but is very apparent (and perhaps borderline offensive) to an adult. Art is my way of discussing taboo and overlooked topics with a touch of shock factor.”

Order The Same Moon Above Us: A Tunisian Tale here.