Nejla Rouissi - Ubuntu

Nejla Rouissi — Ubuntu, 2022
Multilayer acrylic relief, intense artistic pigments and gold-coloured metallic pigments on canvas

50 × 50 × 3 cm | 19.7 × 19.7 × 1.2 in

Unique original artwork — 1/1
Certificate of Authenticity included
Lifetime authenticity guarantee
Description
In Ubuntu, contemporary artist Nejla Rouissi creates a powerful and deeply intimate encounter between a woman and an elephant. Their foreheads meet in silence, transforming a simple gesture into a universal image of trust, recognition and shared existence.

Neither figure dominates the other. The monumental elephant lowers its head with gentleness, while the woman raises her hands toward its face. Their closeness creates the emotional centre of the composition: a moment in which strength becomes tenderness and difference gives way to connection.

The title refers to the African philosophy of Ubuntu, commonly expressed through the idea: “I am because we are.” Here, identity is not represented as something isolated. It is formed through relationships—with other people, with living beings and with the wider natural world.

Behind the figures, an intense golden atmosphere evokes the warmth of sunset. The silhouetted acacia tree situates the scene within an expansive landscape, while the luminous sky gives the encounter an almost timeless quality.

The woman’s pale drapery introduces movement and light. Its layered folds contrast with the elephant’s dark mass and richly worked surface. Gold-coloured details illuminate her jewellery, face and hands, establishing a visual dialogue with the surrounding sky.

Nejla Rouissi constructs the painting through multiple applications of acrylic, intense pigments and relief medium. The elephant’s skin is developed through subtle textural variations, while raised passages and metallic accents create depth across the canvas.

The gold-coloured pigments respond to natural and directional light. Their appearance changes according to the viewing angle, progressively revealing warmer reflections and delicate details. From a distance, the work possesses a strong, immediately recognisable silhouette; viewed closely, it reveals the physical richness of its multilayered surface.

The composition brings together monumentality and intimacy, power and vulnerability, humanity and nature. Rather than presenting the elephant as a distant symbol, the artist creates a relationship based on equality and mutual presence.

The handwritten message on the reverse completes the meaning of the work:
“Two souls unite without a word,
A silent bond, forever heard.
In every heart, a truth shines through:
I am because of you.”

Entirely created by hand, Ubuntu is a unique and unreproducible original artwork.
About the artist
Nejla Rouissi is a contemporary artist whose figurative language explores connection, dignity, memory and the relationship between humanity and the living world.

Her compositions unite symbolic imagery with an emotionally accessible visual narrative. Human figures, animals, light and landscape become carriers of universal ideas concerning belonging, mutual dependence and the strength found through compassion.

Rouissi works through successive layers of acrylic, relief medium and highly concentrated pigments. Her surfaces combine areas of controlled detail with expressive material variations. Metallic accents are applied selectively, allowing light to participate actively in the composition without overwhelming its emotional content.

Through this balance between symbolism, colour and tactile matter, the artist creates works that remain visually powerful from a distance while inviting close and contemplative observation.

Nejla Rouissi is represented by Abstract Art Gallery, Riga.
Artwork details
- Artist: Nejla Rouissi
- Title: Ubuntu
- Year: 2022
- Medium: Multilayer acrylic relief, intense artistic pigments and gold-coloured metallic pigments on canvas
- Dimensions: 50 × 50 × 3 cm
- Imperial dimensions: 19.7 × 19.7 × 1.2 in
- Orientation: Square
- Rarity: Unique original artwork — 1/1
- Condition: Excellent studio condition, never restored
- Signature: Hand-signed by the artist on the front and reverse
- Reverse: Title, year, dimensions, technique, identifying information, artist’s signature and handwritten message
- Artwork reference: AAG-NR-U-2022-001
- Support: Canvas mounted on its original solid wooden stretcher
- Stretcher depth: Approximately 3 cm
- Frame: No decorative frame included
- Presentation: Delivered stretched and ready to hang
Authenticity and provenance
The painting comes directly from the artist through Abstract Art Gallery, Riga.

It is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity issued by Abstract Art Gallery. The certificate records the artist’s name, title, year, dimensions, reference and unique status of the artwork.

Abstract Art Gallery provides a lifetime guarantee of authenticity and documented provenance, permanently supporting the work’s identification and collection history.

Provenance: Nejla Rouissi / Abstract Art Gallery, Riga.
Condition
The artwork is preserved in excellent original studio condition and has never been restored.

Small variations in relief, pigment density and metallic reflection are intentional characteristics of the artist’s multilayer technique and form an integral part of the composition.
Presentation and delivery
The canvas will be delivered mounted on its original 3 cm-deep solid wooden stretcher. The painted edges and sculptural depth allow it to be presented without an additional decorative frame.

The artwork is ready to hang upon arrival. It will be professionally protected, carefully packaged, tracked and insured during transportation.