Malles – Shaping Stories was born from meeting the potters of Sejnane, in northern Tunisia. Their hand-moulded forms tell a story of knowledge handed down through generations, but also the practical difficulties of those who try to transform a traditional practice into a continuous source of income.
We spoke with Vittoria Capresi, who follows the project from Tunisia, to understand how Malles was born, how the artisans work, and what balance can be built between the preservation of local techniques, new forms, and international distribution.
How was Malles – Shaping Stories born?
The idea came after several visits to Sejnane and from conversations I had directly with the artisans. They told me that one of the main difficulties concerns the sale of their ceramics.
Some display their pieces on tables along the road, waiting for the few visitors or residents who pass by. There is also a fair in Tunis, usually in spring, but participating involves high costs and a lot of competition.
What is mainly missing is greater continuity in income. Without regular demand, it is difficult to transform pottery from an occasional activity into a truly paid job.
This is where the idea of Malles was born: to bring these ceramics outside Tunisia through exhibitions, collaborations, and relationships with designers and architects. Increasing opportunities for encounters means generating more demand and making production less uncertain.
However, I wanted the project to go beyond selling the object. Along with the ceramics, postcards are delivered that tell the story of the woman who made it. The buyer of a piece should be able to know the artisan's name and understand where it comes from.
Why did Tunisia become the heart of the project?
In reality, Tunisia chose me. I live here for work, also managing a project in Libya, and Malles was born as a way to maintain a direct and concrete relationship with the country.
Living in Tunisia, I began to better understand the territory and its cultural sites. I continue to travel and explore even today. During one of these visits, I arrived in Sejnane: it was from that encounter that everything began.
Who are the women who work with Malles?
I work with eight women belonging to two family groups. In Sejnane, the family often has an extended structure: multiple generations live in houses organized around a common courtyard, in the rural area.
There are about a hundred registered artisans in the area, and many are elderly. Younger generations do not always seem interested in continuing this practice, which puts the continuity of knowledge at risk.
Pottery is only one part of their daily lives. The women work in the fields, tend to animals, milk cows, raise children, and prepare food for the family.
Production is physically demanding. The clay is collected near their homes, prepared and worked outdoors, often barefoot in the courtyard and in challenging climatic conditions.
Local clay
The earth is collected locally, cleaned, and prepared by the artisans themselves.
Hand-moulding
The shapes are built without a potter's wheel, through gestures learned within the family.
Open firing
The pieces are fired outdoors, in contact with flames, ash, and natural materials.
How can ceramics become a tool for autonomy?
The artisans of Sejnane want to be seen and desire their work to be recognized as a form of art. They are proud of the skills they possess.
Producing ceramics allows them to distinguish themselves and recognize themselves as part of a community. They are aware that they possess knowledge that does not belong to everyone.
In 2018, the knowledge related to Sejnane female pottery was included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The recognition mainly concerns the social value of the practice and the way it is transmitted.
Making ceramics known therefore means also making visible the women who create them. For this reason, I consider the role of Vicode important as a conduit to bring their work outside Tunisia.
What do the imperfect surfaces of the vases tell us?
These ceramics were originally created as everyday objects, used for cooking, storing food, or making bread. Only later did some forms take on a decorative function.
The appearance of the objects depends directly on the material and the processing method. The local clay is coarse, while firing takes place outdoors and at lower temperatures than those of many contemporary ceramic kilns.
For this reason, the surfaces are not uniform. They may have darker areas, burn marks, small cracks, and variations. These are not imperfections to be corrected: they are the natural result of the process and constitute an essential part of the beauty of each piece.
How can design be introduced without altering local techniques?
Generally, I let the artisans work freely. In some cases, I offer an idea or a possible direction, but the discussion always takes place before production.
We discuss together whether a form can be constructed with that type of clay and with that technique. The most interesting part comes when each woman interprets the same suggestion in a different way.
From a design or a conversation, new forms can thus be born, but always consistent with the knowledge and gestures of the artisans.
Why did you choose Vicode to tell Malles' story online?
Vicode is a suitable window for Malles because it allows us to show what exists behind the objects. Not just the aesthetic aspect, but also the artisanal work and the human dimension.
Another important element is the space reserved for uniqueness. The artisans work by hand and cannot replicate the same object identically without altering the logic of production.
This is not a given in online sales, where standard products are often sought that are always available in the same way. The Malles selections change because they are made up of unique and unrepeatable pieces.
Vicode understood this characteristic and treated it as a value, rather than a limitation.
