Paris aujourd’hui (Paris today), 2025
Fatma Cheffi, , 5-7 minutes

Drawing inspiration from Bernard Heidsieck’s sound poem Vaduz (1974), the artist performs a series of words and onomatopoeia drawn from various minority languages spoken in Paris and its surroundings. Some of these words have officially entered the French language, whilst others remain on the margins. As they unfold across a long roll of paper, they transform into a swirling poem on hospitality, symbolising a space for encounter and connection. The performance explores the power and presence of these words, highlighting the polymorphic and metamorphic nature of language itself.

Fatma Cheffi is a Tunisian artist and independent curator based in Paris. Her practice explores language as a terrain that is both conflictual and fertile. Through writing, the voice and the materiality of words, she investigates its colonial scars and its potential for reappropriation.
 

Graphic design : © Halladora Magnusdottir / Visual credit : © Fatma Cheffi, Handwritten text on a roll of cash register paper, digital drawing