[En/Fr] Moroccan Singularity is a project that puts forward the hybridity of Moroccan culture through a set of pungent photos.
I aimed to illustrate the reality of a country that is much like a melting pot in which modernity and conservatism intersect to deliver a unique outcome.
The photos incorporated in this project are characterized by their bifurcate nature. Whether it is a young couple making out with a mosque in the background or youngsters celebrating Ashura in the heart of the metropole, the contrast between elements and themes in each photo seems to be in line with the intersection of both modernity and conservatism. To quote Amin Maalouf’s essay
In the Name of Identity: “Every individual is a meeting ground for many different allegiances, and sometimes these loyalties conflict with one another and confront the person who harbors them with difficult choices.” I am fully aware of the complexity of the Moroccan identity, a fuzzy collective one that I relentlessly try to capture.
The multiple facets of people’s identity could be seen through many aspects of their lives. For instance, sexuality in Morocco is still constrained by religion and colonial laws and cannot be lived to its fullest. Such factors, namely articles 490 and 489, are still oppressing people’s approach to intimacy and keep pushing them to their limits. This type of behavioral confusion as well as other sparse elements that make the hybridity of the Moroccan identity are the main catalyzer of my drive to take such photos.
Moroccan Singularity is a project that puts forward the hybridity of Moroccan culture through a set of
pungent photos. I aimed to illustrate the reality of a country that is much like a melting pot
in which modernity and conservatism intersect to deliver
a unique outcome.
The photos incorporated in this project are characterized by their bifurcate nature. Whether it is a young couple making out with a mosque in the background or youngsters celebrating Ashura in the heart of the metropole, the contrast between elements and themes in each photo seems to be in line with the intersection of both modernity and conservatism. To quote Amin Maalouf’s essay In the Name of Identity: “Every individual is a meeting ground for many different allegiances, and sometimes these loyalties conflict with one another and confront the person who harbors them with difficult choices.” I am fully aware of the complexity of the Moroccan identity, a fuzzy collective one that I relentlessly try to capture.
The multiple facets of people’s identity could be seen through many aspects of their lives. For instance, sexuality in Morocco is still constrained by religion and colonial laws and cannot be lived to its fullest. Such factors, namely articles 490 and 489, are still oppressing people’s approach to intimacy and keep pushing them to their limits. This type of behavioral confusion as well as other sparse elements that make the hybridity of the Moroccan identity are the main catalyzer of my drive to take such photos.
In Moroccan Singularity, I want the viewers of my photos to question possible understandings they might have had before about Morocco and Africa. Exploration and faithful portrayal of my surroundings are my touchstone as a photographer and I firmly believe that I could convey a sincere, crude yet poetic depiction of life in Morocco.
a unique outcome.
The photos incorporated in this project are characterized by their bifurcate nature. Whether it is a young couple making out with a mosque in the background or youngsters celebrating Ashura in the heart of the metropole, the contrast between elements and themes in each photo seems to be in line with the intersection of both modernity and conservatism. To quote Amin Maalouf’s essay In the Name of Identity: “Every individual is a meeting ground for many different allegiances, and sometimes these loyalties conflict with one another and confront the person who harbors them with difficult choices.” I am fully aware of the complexity of the Moroccan identity, a fuzzy collective one that I relentlessly try to capture.
The multiple facets of people’s identity could be seen through many aspects of their lives. For instance, sexuality in Morocco is still constrained by religion and colonial laws and cannot be lived to its fullest. Such factors, namely articles 490 and 489, are still oppressing people’s approach to intimacy and keep pushing them to their limits. This type of behavioral confusion as well as other sparse elements that make the hybridity of the Moroccan identity are the main catalyzer of my drive to take such photos.
In Moroccan Singularity, I want the viewers of my photos to question possible understandings they might have had before about Morocco and Africa. Exploration and faithful portrayal of my surroundings are my touchstone as a photographer and I firmly believe that I could convey a sincere, crude yet poetic depiction of life in Morocco.
Marouane Beslem
Marouane Beslem
