Tunisian subjects get ink treatment

TUNIS — The medium is Chinese but the subjects are Tunisian. An amalgamation of the cultures of the two geographically distant but historically close countries has won an appreciative audience as six Chinese artists painted scenes they had witnessed in the North African country during their 10-day stay.

Their work, done in the delicate traditional Chinese ink painting style, is being shown in Hammamet, a beach town in eastern Tunisia that is a prime tourist destination.

The one-week exhibition, which was inaugurated on Wednesday, is jointly organized by the Chinese and Tunisian ministries of culture as part of Sino-Tunisian cultural exchanges.

There are more than 50 drawings by six artists, including Zhai Jianqun and Zhou Xiaoming — members of the Chinese Artists’ Association — and Ding Xuejun, a professor of the renowned Rongbaozhai painting academy in Beijing.

Their subjects range from landscapes and figures to Tunisian folk culture.

Zhai says that they stayed in Tunisia for over 10 days to experience local customs. They painted Tunisia in traditional Chinese ink painting style.

“We found Tunisian artists know little about Chinese ink painting. So this exhibition is a good way to share our traditional painting culture with Tunisian artists,” says Zhai.

“We communicate and learn from each other.”

Moez Mrabet, the director of the International Cultural Center of Hammamet, says the exhibition is a good opportunity for Tunisian artists to learn about the Chinese painting technique.

Bai Guangming, cultural counselor at the Chinese embassy in Tunis, says SinoTunisian cultural ties have witnessed rapid development in recent years, thanks to frequent artistic exchanges.