ABOUT ME
My work consists in developing a vocabulary of images that are tied to both the everyday world and the imaginary sphere. It is based on an undercurrent that calls to mind visionary, and emotional aspects of identity and self-reflection.
I was born and raised in Morocco, so my cultural and ethnical background shows up in my shapes and sometimes colors. The heat of the earth juxtaposed with a blurry dusty sky runs through my images and clashes with the more sharp edged xenophobia that I feel around me at times, because I live in a foreign place.
When I make an image, I convey a language that I find most evident for me. Throughout my childhood, speaking was a difficult task. I grew up stuttering, therefore, I limited my speech to only express what was necessary.
Speech for me required a great physical effort, and lots of courage. The pressure from my hand to engrave the lines and shapes in my printmaking works along with the acid that eats the metal to communicate a flowing journey of emotions and thoughts. The process also depicts my voice beyond the physical handicap, and beyond other social and political oppressions.
The interdisciplinary approach in my work is necessary because, I feel that diversity is very enriching when formulating imagery. I also attempt to analyze the traces and influence of Orientalist ideology and colonial power dominance in the shaping of my identity as a postcolonial artist.
In my work I speak in the voice of the subaltern. Growing up in a postcolonial country, my identity was influenced by French colonialism. Through my work I try to decolonize my mind by attempting to abolish myself from the effect of power dominance inflicted by years of colonial ideology.
I am interested in culture and ethnicity from a largely sociological and philosophical perspective, and I enjoy the complex writings of many influential figures, such as Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Gayatri Spivak, Edward Said and many more.
