“Mother Tongue” is a three-screen video with my mother and I in conversation, speaking in Arabic and French respectively, then my daughter and I, in English and French, and finally my mother and my daughter, in Arabic and English. Here both struggle to converse. The language gap between grandmother and granddaughter breaks down their communication. The piece is about three languages, three countries and three generations of women. “Mother Tongue” was very well received due to its simplicity in the presentation, yet the experience of transmission and language was complex. I like to call this way of communicating, or not, a diasporic way of communicating. Its success lied in its relevance to the globalized world we live in. The work goes beyond the autobiographies and the specificities of Algeria, France and England to reach a wider context.

Courtesy of the artist and Kamel Mennour