Zied Ben Romdhane

ZIED BEN ROMDHANE (Tunis, 1981)
“Tunis, Tunisia,” 2023.
Black-and-white photograph.
Signed.
Accompanied by a certificate from The Square Print Sale, in collaboration with Aperture, and bearing the Magnum seal on the reverse.
Measurements: 15 x 15 cm.

In “Tunis, Tunisia,” Zied Ben Romdhane creates an image of great restraint through a subtle gesture: the profile of a male figure, seen from behind, with a small tattoo visible on the nape of his neck. The photograph avoids a frontal view and shifts the focus to the skin, the haircut, the curve of the neck, and that intimate mark, which concentrates much of the visual tension.

The black-and-white treatment reinforces the formal starkness of the image—almost silent—where the portrait borders on a fragment. Ben Romdhane works here with restraint: he does not need to show the entire face to suggest identity, vulnerability, and physical presence.

The work embodies a contemporary documentary perspective, attentive to the body and personal signs as forms of narrative. In its small format, the image takes on a very direct intensity, straddling the line between intimate portraiture and social observation.

Zied Ben Romdhane is a Tunisian photographer born in 1981. After beginning his career in commercial photography, he shifted his focus to documentary and photojournalism in 2011, centering much of his work on Tunisia and its social and territorial hallmarks. He has been published in media outlets such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, and in 2019 he was nominated for Magnum Photos. His work has been featured in international contexts such as World Press Photo, Paris Photo, and the MUCEM in Marseille.