Born in St Denis in 1994 and currently based between Réunion Island andthe Netherlands, Yassine Ben Abdallah is a research-based artist-designerfocused on issues of heritage, cultural identity, and belonging. Informed byhis family’s experience as immigrants from Tunisia, he creates objects,installations, writings, and performances that interrogate the socio-politicalaftereffects of colonialism with the goal of uplifting unheard personal andcollective narratives.

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"The dieDas fellowship provided a fertile ground for contemplating the concept of monuments and how we preserve memories within a particular setting. It was a nurturing experience to absorb insights from fellow participants and immerse myself in a community of practitioners that pushes the boundaries of how spaces are designed and experienced." —Yassine Ben Abdallah

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Ben Abdallah earned a BA in Humanities and an MA in Innovation &Digital Transformation in Design from the Paris Institute of Political Studiesbefore earning a second Master’s in Geo–Design from the Design AcademyEindhoven. In 2022, he received the Gijs Bakker Award for his thesis project,The Bittersweet Memory of the Plantation, which shined a light on thehistorical erasure of the enslaved and indentured sugar plantation laborers ofLa Réunion under French colonial rule between the 17th and 20th centuries.

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Other highlights from Ben Abdallah’s portfolio include Îlet-la-mer, aseries of objects exploring the continuing impact of the historical slave tradeon Réunioneses and their fraught relationship with the sea, and A Winter inTunis, an installation dedicated to the archetypal Arabian Rug and its centralrole in his own family’s home.

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