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In this article, you won’t find a detailed portrait of Noutayel
Belkadhi. Elusive artist, true free spirit, it would be a sacrilege
to put in a box an artist that is outside the norm.
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’ve met Noutayel and his universe in Carthage, in his workshop. Once inside, I enter a world
made of metal and alloys of various kinds and shapes. The eye is unceasingly drawn to ruins of
objects, tubes, pipes... The room looks more like the shed of a scrap metal dealer than an artist
workshop. However, a few steps further, I see some of his works, stored on shelves... made of
metal.
Noutayel gives free reign to his imagination, I observe successively a piranha created from a
meticulous assembly of iron rods, a machine gun disguised as a French baguette that recalls
Fred Dufour’s famous photograph (remember the man pointing a French baguette at police officers, a certain
January 14th 2011 on Bourguiba Avenue) or a net of black pearls in the form of veiled woman whose dancing
is triggered by a motion detector. Noutayel is definitely highly creative but also has a great sense of humour !
This artist does not like to be the subject of conversations. Direct and clear, he explains that he is not looking
for glory or visibility and that his privacy is very important to him. He does not create for the others but for
himself, in order to satisfy an irrepressible need to shape and revive materials. Talkative when it comes to his
works of art, Noutayel admits that he likes this long process of creation, the choice of the metal and its shaping,
following state-of-the-art techniques. The artist masters its discipline ; formerly robotics engineer, he has
developed a passion for metals over many years. At age 13, he achieves his first piece, a small bicycle made
from recycled materials. Since then, he never stopped creating.
Recently, Noutayel has reinvented the signage of the Bardo Museum on the occasion of the Klee Macke Moillet
exhibition. And if you are in Tunis from January to February, don’t miss his exhibition at the Ghaya Gallery
located down the hill of Sidi Bou Saïd, you will certainly be amazed ! I
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