Rachid Koraichi: Jardin d'Afrique / Garden of Africa

Garden of Africa is an artist''s response to the need for humans to be given proper dignity after death. Many corpses, washed up by sea currents on the beaches of Zarzis, Tunisia, had for years been denied a proper burial and had instead gone to the public dump. It was the artist, sculptor, urbanist and architect Rachid Koraichi''s determination to create a palace, a final resting place for these people, a site that would itself be a work of art - and would grow into a memorial where families and relatives could come to pray and pay their last respects. ''This versatile artist, linked to the Koraichi family of the Prophet Muhammad, is deeply spiritual. His most recent project is Jardin d''Afrique (Garden of Africa), a cemetery for irregular migrants in the coastal town of Zarzis, southern Tunisia.'' (Rose Issa, introduction to the interview with Rachid Koraichi)