The Kerkennah archipelago bewitches sensitive hearts like the song of the sirens. From lateen sails rooted in Mediterranean legends to photographs suspended between shadow and clarity, Pierre Gassin makes his home on the islands, fascinated by the hypnotic elements of a landscape carried by deep, iridescent light.
The inscription of Charfiya fishing on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list led Pierre Gassin to photograph the entire Kerkennah system: from feluccas to palm barriers planted across the shallows, all the way to the pearly transparencies of the water. What emerges is both a dreamlike and historical journey, shaped by a generous gaze, sharpened curiosity and a controlled modernity.
Ahlem Ghayaza recalls: “From his terrace, Pierre endlessly watches the lace-like Chrafi brushing the calm water. He had waited for autumn, then winter, because the photographs are more beautiful when the weather is less perfect. There he goes, running barefoot over the clay beach... A moment later he is standing knee-deep in icy water. He jumps to make ripples. He had found it, that junction of landscape, light and gaze.”
If the boat is a universal object, the word “felouque” (flùka in Tunisian) carries a particular resonance here. Between the flat-bottomed “Nègo chin” boats and the craft steered by children from a very young age, the layering of images reveals the universality of the object. At the heart of the Mediterranean, Kerkennah magnetises people. Its extraordinarily calm waters quieten passions and bury consciousness. An immutable mother.
Charfiya fishing, a Phoenician system based on traps made from palm leaves, organises life according to the tides. Respectful of the environment, it binds together this microcosm where community spirit is the rule. Every sailor takes part in making the alfa-grass traps and repairing nets dyed purple so that they disappear beneath the surface.
“A boat at the foot of a house — a freeboard separates it — waits for the passenger known to it alone. Where, at last, will they travel together?” In homage to René Char
THE MYSTIQUE OF THE CERCINAE — Boats enchanted by intimate lights. Lateen sails drawing their source from the legends of our shared sea. Images wavering between shadow and clarity. Chiaroscuro as a reading of a world freed from judgement, an innocent voyeur. A hypnotic bath of socialised reality. For us, children of the Mediterranean. — Pierre Gassin