OLFACTORY ART
THE BIRDS ARE CHIRPING ABOVE THE TREE
Retrospective Exhibition of Hamid Zénati’s life and work.
Commissioned by curator Nadine Nour el Din.
B7L9 ART CENTRE
THE KAMEL LAZAAR FOUNDATION AND THE HAMID ZÉNATI ESTATE
“The Birds Are Chirping Above the Tree” — a phrase that carries the soft echoes of childhood, the first whispers of language, and the profound connection between words, images, and memory, as reflected in the artist Hamid Zénati’s very first Arabic lesson, learned in Algeria.
The Fondation Kamel Lazaar and the Hamid Zénati Estate The Art Of Hamid Zenati, with the support of Goethe-Institut Tunis are thrilled to present The Birds Are Chirping Above the Tree, a captivating retrospective exhibition celebrating the audacious and visionary world of Hamid Zénati (1944–2022) at B7L9 Art Centre.
. This exhibition brings together a rare collection of the artist’s works in dialogue with key pieces from the Kamel Lazaar Foundation collection and renowned artists whose works resonate deeply with those of Zénati.
This exhibition invites you to dive into Zénati’s boundless universe — a world where vivid hues, intricate patterns, and rebellious surfaces come together to create an emotional journey through resistance, hope, and transformation.
A celebration of one of North Africa's most inventive and profound artistic voices.
Curated by Nadine Nour el Din with the insightful support of Anna Fenia Schneider
Exhibition manager: Sabah Ennaïfar
Poster designer: Farah Ghezal
Scenography : Béchir Riahi
Two olfactory works:
Nafs (Self, Spirit, Breath) and Joy, two scents inspired by Zenati’s life and work.
Nafs uses prompts from Zenati’s favourite amber oil during his days at the studio, surrounded by tobacco smoke.
Joy explores his work and the feelings it evokes, the synesthetic aspect of everything he does and the jubilant energy it brings.
Materials: Essential oils & aroma molecules in fractionated oil. Embedded in cotton in traditional ceramic tagines.
April 18th - July 20th 2025
Tunis, Tunisia
Images courtesy of Nadine Nour el Din and B7L9 Art Centre
Two olfactory works: Sarab and Hawa
Through olfaction, Dana El Masri invites us to rewrite orientalism. By playing with classical notes popular in French perfumery, and pervading them with scents of everyday life, the first scent aims to strip away the romanticism associated with a movement that is at the core colonial.
To bring a new perspective, the second scent expresses expansion. With the use of fresher notes, we’re guided towards a future away from fantasy, inspiring new possibilities, and honours forgotten histories. By challenging the olfactory codes of ‘oriental’ scent, Dana allows for a narrative closer to reality and away from colonial fantasy to prevail.
Materials: Essential oils & Aroma molecules in Argan oil. Embedded in cotton within specially carved walnut wood boxes.
March 5th-May 28th 2023
Denver, CO, United States
Interview with Dana.
Images courtesy of the Denver Art Museum
New York, United States
Year
Oct + Nov 2021 (reintroduced as Twelve Encounters in Los Angeles, Dec 2022)
One of Ten olfactory pieces. 10 scented works from around the world recreate real and imagined encounters.
Images courtesy of Olfactory Art Keller
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One evening, Ahmosi was visited by the god Amun, who made himself recognizable by his godly aroma. Upon waking, Ahmosi recognized the God. As the story goes, "his love passed into her limbs, which the fragrance of the god flooded; all his odors were from Punt." The result of this olfactory union was the conception of the second female Pharaoh, Hatshepsut. (Memphis, Egypt)
Capturing the moment between the god Amun, disguised as Thutmose I (Thutmosis), and Ahmose (Ahmosi) as they unite to create Hatshepsut. A spiritual connection, a moment hidden from the light, only to create light, joined for peace. An ancient chamber flooded with scent, narcotic yet ascendant, invisible yet denotes divine presence.
Notes: blue lotus, chamomile, marjoram,
black cumin CO2, cinnamon bark CO2, and labdanum.
SELF DISCOVERY, SMELL PORTRAIT Scent Installation
‘I Am From Here/Je Suis d'içi’, curated by Rad Hourani Foundation
UNISEX GALLERY
Montreal, Canada
Year
2021
SPOIL -
In collaboration with Artist & Educator Dana Prieto.
Excerpt and Images courtesy of Dana Prieto.
Spoil is a sensuous multidisciplinary meditation on the unsettling material remnants of colonial extraction in the hands of Canadian corporations. This olfactory installation brings forward deep smells of volcanic earth from around "Bajo la Alumbrera" mine, blended with sharp notes that resemble the most harmful contaminants instilled by gold-mining operations: arsenic and cyanide. This work was a part of "Grounding" curated by Maya Wilson Sanchez from September to December 2020 at the Art Gallery of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Rich mineral soil, terracotta, geosmin, plant matter, gun powder, apricot pits, unripe peaches, bitter almonds and garlic flowers.
Guelph - Toronto - Montreal, Canada
Year
2020
SHIM EL YASMEEN - SMELL THE JASMINE شم الياسمين
Scent Installation exhibited at ‘Take Care of Yourself’, curated by Sundus Abdul Hadi.
Exploring the duality of light and dark in relation to mental health and self-care. Shim El Yasmeen is a moment of respite among the flowers.
Jasmine Grandiflorum, Jasmine Sambac, Stephanotis, Jasmine Absolute India 10%, Wood Panels, Cotton, Silk, Wires.
Images by Dana El Masri
Montreal, QC, Canada
Year
2017
