Formed at the Haute École des Arts du Rhin (HEAR, 2015), Ouissem Moalla (born in 1990 in Stockholm) explores themes of space and memory in his work, drawing inspiration from the research of historian Frances A. Yates. He draws from popular and literary culture, myths, and major texts, with language as a recurring thread. This takes shape through performances, installations, and paintings in which he questions space, our relationship to places, cosmogony, and beliefs.

Whether in Mulhouse, where his studio is located, or during residencies (Motoco&co Tokyo 2018; CEEAC - Basis E.v. Frankfurt 2023; Villa Salammbô Institut français Tunisia 2024), he works with the remnants of industrial ruins (G.O.L.D, 2017), explores myths and representations of urban gateways (Impressions d’Espaces, 2024), wanders around a Shinto shrine carrying chairs strapped to his back to form the character 目 (mù / eye) (Monkey, 2018), or reinterprets mystical texts by intertwining language and the body (Clavis Tabula, 2023). His work, enriched by multicultural influences, flirts with the human and social sciences, questioning archives and communities.

Ouissem Moalla classifies his works into «series», each forming a universe that he continuously expands with new projects exploring the same themes.

HERMES 2011-2022

Research on systems of codification and numerical language.

"Hermes" is a series of experiments that explores the notion of "language" within a broad field of investigation. The research draws from various cultural contexts, establishing correspondences between alphabetical and numerical systems, codifications of space and time, movements, materials, forms, and colors. These are grammars intimately linked to language but also organize actions and reasoning in pragmatic or speculative activities related to everyday life. Among other examples, one can cite the systems developed during Hellenistic antiquity, where various practices and scientific classifications find their roots in the elements and movements of the cosmos. The richness of these systems lies in their adaptation over time, stemming from an intimate interpretation of the world continuously updated by new discoveries.

The "process" occupies a particular place in these experiences. The operative aspect that unfolds before, during, and after the production of an object, as well as the choice of materials or the timing of the action, gives rise to abstract manipulations, from which various visual objects emerge, ranging from graphic design to body choreography. The plastic choices are determined by pre-established systems based on fictitious principles, and the results appear to the eye as incoherent sets. However, these production processes, in the form of language, allow for a deeper reading that invites deciphering and attributing meaning to what is perceived. This underlying aspect engages in a playful approach with the spectator and has become one of the main driving forces behind this series of experiments.

In summary, the projects in the "Hermes" series are primarily exercises aimed at constructing the structures of a visual universe by imitating various systems of thought, whether derived from imaged philosophical concepts, scientific representation schemes, or literary and poetic works. The use of plane geometry has allowed for the employment of simple and universally definable visual elements, thus facilitating the reading of the compositions. These are "generic" forms that could just as easily be replaced by figurative forms.