The Project:
Midday takes place in Fictional Place, an aesthetic utopia built in the middle of the Tunisian Sahara. It is reminiscent of North African architecture and community references such as southern Tunisian homes, ksour, mosques, and villages, but also heavily influenced by abstract shapes and the visual balance of modern architecture. The exact location is unknown and mysterious, but one would be able to guess its geographical locale based on the light, topography, and hints of North African flare on the buildings. One cannot be sure how this place exists: we’re not exactly sure if the place is an abandoned civilization or a new, rapidly-built city waiting to be inhabited. The weather is perfect, it is always midday when the sun is beaming; light is always glaring on facades that are prime real estate for ST4 murals and engravings. Fictional Place is an imaginary world ideated by ST4 The Project (Med Sadok Kaffel & Yassin Bouzid ) & Anis Jabloun.
On the facades of buildings in Fictional Place live murals and engravings by ST4 The Project. Through creating a Fictional Place in which they can install their artwork, the project is a manifestation of the artwork the duo would create if all conditions were “near-perfect” – easy access to walls and facades, fictitiously unlimited resources, and an endless swell of light and shadow that benefit the artwork at its best angles, during the best time of day.
Through the experience of forced quarantine, we’re all in a position to explore versions of virtual reality as a medium through which we fulfill aspects of what we consider “normal life.” Through Zoom and Houseparty, we connect with our friends. Through Instagram we see places outside of our homes, places where we are forbidden to go. Art galleries and fairs have moved exhibitions and happenings online in lieu of in-real-life experiences. Fictional Place is the manner in which street art becomes part of the virtual world through which we are consuming and experiencing contemporary culture in the time of COVID-19. Additionally, through building this virtual space, ST4 The Project can create a fictional world that could be actualized in real life after quarantine is over.
