During the last week of February 2016, we did a detour by the 6th Marrakech Biennale for it’s opening week. Lead by curator Reem Fada, this edition titled “what’s new now/ Quoi de neuf là” had good critical feedback. We looked where one could find photography in various In and Off places, or places with photography completely independent from the biennale. From the In side, there were few things apart from the beautiful work of Bosnian photographer Isak Berbic with Baynunah River where he addresses (as usual) questions linked to anthropology, ecology and economy. Here, he investigates archeological sites based in Abu Dhabi where archeologists compromise with the petroleum industry.
In its parallel projects, the biennale’s Off, several photo projects are exhibited, such as “Shadows” by Nadine Hattom (Iraq/Australia).
Then, a bit farther from the medina, Le 18, a cultural, multidisciplinary riad, presents a large-scale independent project: KawKaw. In Darija, this signifies “peanut”, a food designated as rich an popular, common to cultures of the Maghreb which can be found at various occasions or simply in people’s hands and mouths. From the mind of guest curator Younès Baba-Ali, this project is made up of a residency of five artists from Greater Maghreb: Mohamed Arejdal (Morocco), Oussama Tabti (Algeria), Hadia Gana (Lybia), Hamedine Kane (Mauritania) et Ali Tnani (Tunisia).
Oussama Tabti’s “Fake”
Visual artist who graduated with a diploma in graphic design from Algeria’s École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in 2012, Oussama Tabti was born in 1988 in Algeria. He lives and works in Marseille. The artist had met guest curator Younès Baba-Ali in 2009 in Macedonia during the Biennale of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean (BJCEM). After seeing each other again at the Dakar Biennale in 2012, it became evident that they wanted to work together. This is how Oussama Tabti found himself in the framework of the KawKaw project representing Algeria for one month in Marrakech.
During the exposition at the end of the residency, the artist presented a series of six images titled “Fake”. “Right from leaving the airport to go to the medina, I was spotting fake palm trees installed around town. I was noticing them right away because I was already familiar with them. There are some that exist in Algeria, but not many- three or four along the highway.
At the same time, from my first days in Marrakech, I identified the artificial side of the city. As expected, some parts are a bit of a showcase: a little “Eastern fantasy” for numerous Western tourists. Thus was born the idea of the postcard medium reinforcing the notion of utopia, with a well-composed image that one can relate to in such cities or countries,” he explains to us.
In these images, the fake palm trees proudly throne different areas of the ocher city. The author questions an illusionist exoticism where the real and the false become entangled. The complete Fake series is comprised of a dozen images, but the author had wished to display them in the form of an installation. Here, the postcards are shown on six wooden displays where the public can help themselves, perhaps to send one of the fake palm trees to his or her family?
LINKS
Read more : www.kawkabat-kawkaw.com
About Oussama Tabti: http://www.oussamatabti.com
