This Monday, October 14, 2024, his unique look passed away, but his visual legacy will remain forever engraved in the collective memory of Morocco.
Few have had the privilege of capturing the intimacy of the Royal Palace, of freezing for eternity the historic moments of the Green March or of photographing the greatest world figures welcomed to the Kingdom.
Abdelmaksoud Shimi was one of those chosen ones, of those artists whose eye saw beyond appearances, capturing not only the image but the soul of each moment.
Brother of the great journalist Abdeljabar Shimi, also deceased, and son-in-law of the kanoun virtuoso Salah Cherki, Abdelmaksoud Shimi was part of a line of artists and communicators who left their mark on the Moroccan cultural landscape.
With him, a whole part of our national memory is gone.
But he leaves us an inestimable treasure: photographs vibrant with life, witnesses of an era, its hopes and its moments of glory.
Today, in these dark hours, our thoughts are with his family and loved ones, his children and his nephews (of which I am one).
Through his photos, Abdelmaksoud Shimi will continue to tell us the history of Morocco, its proud moments, his encounters with the world, and the greatness of a nation he loved so much.
May his soul rest in peace.
