Nja Mahdaoui (Tunisian, b. 1937)

Nja Mahdaoui is one of Tunisia's leading contemporary artists. His work is based on the shapes associated with the Kufic script. He is often described as a "choreographer of letters". In most of his work, Mahdaoui remains strongly influenced by Tunisian cultural traditions, such as textile arts, but manages to harmonize traditional calligraphic styles with a thoroughly modern sensibility.

Although his words are rarely decipherable, he uses letterforms as motifs to create rhythmic and melodic compositions.
His style can seem at times almost Far Eastern, and exists between tradition and modernity, between calligraphy and abstract art.