Karim Marrakchi’s exhibition continues until January 25 at Dar El Kitab, in Casablanca, punctuated by presentations by other artists who resonate with the visual artist’s approach.
Karim Marrakchi has invested the space of Dar El Kitab, in his own way. If Marrakchi has devoted himself entirely to art since 2005, his long experience as an architect can be seen in his use of this house located on Place de la Mosquée, in the Habous district, for which the French designers were keen to inspired by traditional architecture. The installation tends to highlight the potential of this Moroccan heritage filtered through the sieve of what was modernity at the beginning of the 20th century. From the entrance, “we go up to the open space, the terrace, and with the work,” he confided to Inspirations ECO.
“There is an evolution in verticality. Below, at the entrance, we are in the abyss. Going up the stairs, we cross “Marine”, several photos of the sea, then we pass through childhood, with nature in reflection, the mystical forest, the birds…”. He also specifies that the light of Morocco as well as a daily intimacy with the ocean, its moving presence, have left an imprint which inspires his work and leads the work towards metaphysical questioning. The glass support allows him to develop his relationship with light. He welcomes the reflection as a material that is an integral part of the painting.
In fact, the characteristic of his images is a composition that is most often classic, familiar, which we think we recognize at first glance. But the figuration having been erased, perplexity forces us to linger on an image, in fact moving, renewing itself with each observation, in the eye of the spectator.
“A network with other artists”
The curator of the project, Géraldine Paoli, explains that they were looking for “an architectural place, a house which really accompanies the work of Karim, of which it is the common thread to in fact highlight the spirit, it is a mesh with other artists, other disciplines.
Thus, Abdeslam Raji wrote poetry that resonates with the work of Karim Marrakchi. Meryem Aboulouafa, for her part, chose a song broadcast on site. Reda Belhaj offered moments of meditation around Sufism.
In one of the rooms hangs threads of life created by women from Marrakech, who tell their stories. Korean composer Uzong Choe produced a sound piece in resonance with the upper room, called “Prelude”, while pieces by Seunyon-Seny Lee provide sound for the entrance, linked to work by Thai Haraud Sextus.
With Fatima Zahra Salih, work is being done to collect oral tales with Korea, and the festival she hosts in Béni Mellal. A workshop “Ancestral polarities, path of the ancestors, voice of the heart” was led by Aziza Taziri. As for the poet Irène Piccolo, she will give a restitution on January 18, and Ahlam Chaieri, a performance: “Writing in resonance”, on the 23rd, at 4 p.m. then at 7 p.m.
-The 5V network
On January 12, visual artist and performer Youssef Ouchra hosted a development of his 5 V project. The idea for this protocol came to him during confinement, while observing the deployment of a column of 5G satellites by a famous billionaire.
Furthermore, scientific research shows that plants are social beings that communicate with each other, with roots emitting chemical signals in particular. Abruptly joining these two realities, the artist proposes to respond with his 5 “Vs”: life, living, vegetation, travel, vehicle.
This last term is used by Native Americans to designate tobacco, hallucinogenic drinks or “shamanic” objects. The aim here is to create a plant network “where humans participate in a utopia”. Youssef Ouchra is inspired by an Amazigh ritual whose equivalents are found all over the planet and which consists of entrusting and associating a wish, or a concern in this case, to a plant.
The ink used is natural, a mixture of turmeric, saffron and a decoction of flower petals. In the Maghreb, it is “magic ink” used for talismans.
The writing or drawing on the paper is then burned and its ashes slipped into the earth, between the roots. The “satellite” thus created can then be sent into the air, using balloons inflated with helium, planted in the ground or in a pot. It becomes one of the “antennas” of the network.
The idea extends well beyond Morocco and its branches can be found almost everywhere, from South America to the Baltic Sea. An application is being prepared to locate them and allow everyone to watch them. “Everything is changing”, the title of the entire work presented at Dar El Kitab, literally translates as: “Everything is changing”.
Murtada Calamy / ECO Inspirations
