Collab lab day 2: diving into the artists' works
After reconnecting—or meeting for the first time—and a (sometimes short) night of sleep, we all gathered at L’Art Rue for the second day of Collab Lab, diving into the artists' works. Some latecomers finally made it, but the day was marked by absences. Despite all the efforts of the L’Art Rue team, some artworks and participants did not arrive or were unable to get through customs. Amal couldn’t be there. Gischt’s work, usually paired with a sculpture by another artist from Nantes, had to be reimagined on the spot. Fanch, whose residency was in Tbilisi, had to adapt his piece for 8 speakers instead of the original 64, with most of his equipment stuck in Georgia. And last but not least, Giorgi arrived in Tunis but had to turn back to Tbilisi due to an unexpected visa requirement, and his work never made it either. Only Larie, playing at home, could present her piece as intended. But hey, that’s all part of international productions—you never know what surprises (or challenges) will come your way. Despite it all, we were eager to immerge ourselves in each artist’s work, listening carefully to the results!
Amal Yaakoubi - Chelas Dar Fadhal
Amal Yaakoubi’s piece, along with those of Ursula and Larie, is presented in one of the ground-floor rooms at L’Art Rue. A wall text introduces Chelas Dar Fadhal—first in Arabic, then in English—in the form of a poem.
Click here to listen to an excerpt of Amal’s work recorded during this day.
Pushing past the curtain, we step into a small room. Two speakers are placed laterally on either side, with a screen in the center. The setup is intimate, just like Amal’s work. Beneath each element, a poem—her piece unfolds as a triptych. We hear the sounds she recorded during her residency in Lisbon, see images of the Chelas neighborhood, and listen as Amal plays the oud. The stereo diffusion lets us experience the city’s soundscape as it shifts and evolves. In her work, Amal weaves poetry, intimacy, and beauty, drawing striking parallels between her native Tunis and her adopted Lisbon.
Larie - Change ♾️
Larie presents the result of nearly a month spent exploring the Medina. To experience her work, we step into a pitch-black room. Transparent fabric veils hang in the center, suspended in layers. Sitting on the scattered cushions, we find ourselves encircled by these veils, which serve as screens for a large projector placed in front of us. Four speakers, positioned at the corners of an imaginary rectangle, complete the full immersion into Change ♾️.
Click here to listen to an excerpt of Larie’s work recorded during this day.
Beyond Larie’s composition, we are plunged into the rich soundscape of the Medina—conversations, the hum of market stalls, singing, workers at their craft. Having walked these very streets over the past days, we now rediscover them through sound, feeling their presence anew. These tangible sonic fragments contrast with the abstract visuals, made even more ethereal by their diffraction across the uneven, translucent veils. It’s stunning. Larie is proud of her work—and rightly so!
Ursula (Gischt) & Pierre X – When Dust Settles
Also exhibited on the ground floor of L’Art Rue, Ursula, aka Gischt, presents a collaborative work born from a new artistic friendship with Pierre Stadelmann. Together, they created When Dust Settles. Pushing past the curtain, we step into a room split in two by an open partition. On either side of the wall, a projection. To the left, a screened performance by Ursula and Pierre Stadelmann — Pierre Stadelmann engaged in construction work while Ursula plays live. To the right, a static wide shot hints at the city of Nantes, its traffic flowing in the background. At the center stands a sculpture, built that very day from bricks found in the Medina and city maps—a reflection on construction, on rebuilding in order to rebuild. It evokes a towering stack of Kapla blocks.
Click here to listen to an excerpt of Ursula’s work recorded during this day.
Another triptych, this time paired with an experimental composition played through four speakers in front of us. The saturated soundscape immerses us in the relentless rhythm of construction on the Île de Nantes.
Fanch Dodeur – Multitude
To experience Multitude, Fanch Dodeur’s work, we leave L’Art Rue and venture deeper into the Medina. We walk through a neighborhood of white buildings with blue doors and windows, weaving our way through its narrow, bustling streets until we reach Minassa—a cultural incubator and a stunning space.
Click here to listen to an excerpt of Fanch’s work recorded during this day.
Inside a dark room, Fanch has arranged eight speakers in a circular setup. Originally designed for sixty-four speakers, the piece had to be reworked, but the meticulous mapping of sounds and textures still holds its power. As the sound moves through the space in a circular motion, it surprises—and above all, mesmerizes.
Giorgi – Murmur
We are deeply disappointed—not just for ourselves, but even more so for Giorgi—that we couldn’t experience Murmur. He was unable to come to Tunis, and the three 3D-printed bells never made the journey either. Beyond the composition, Giorgi had designed a site-specific installation, resonating with the history of the St. Bartlmä Bell Foundry in Innsbruck. A key aspect of his work involved rearranging the installation and the bells themselves. Without the bells and without the artist, it simply wasn’t possible to experience Murmur as intended.
With that in mind, we want to send all our love and support to Giorgi and Ketevani, who were barred from entering Tunis. They may not have been there in person, but they were definitely with us in spirit—right in our hearts! Big hugs to them!
Photos credits: Clotilde Nogues
