Sitta means “six” in Arabic. The artwork’s title comes from the six days that the artist spent in a detention center near Avignon and during which he was given the number six. During this stay, Younes Rahmoun interacted with clandestine immigrants who were waiting to be repatriated. Using his knowledge of Arabic, French, and Spanish, he served as the translator between the detainees and the center’s staff. He explains: “working as the translator gave me a utility, I learned many things because of this role. Each day, I left the courtyard and I gathered the few small white stones that were on the black ground. After six days, I had made a small pile of white stones that contrasted with the black ground. Since I know that I would leave the center, I asked a guard to let me go into the courtyard with my camera, and I was able to photograph this small white mountain twice. This small pile of stones represents all of the experience lived in this place.”
