Rabat – Starkly illuminating and exuberantly contrasting, Rabat’s Abla Ababou Galerie showcases a multimedia ensemble to bring color to “l’air d’été.” The projections of the blues of Asillah, the vibrant cityscapes of Marrakech, and the foaming whirlwinds of the Moroccan coast carry the imaginings of 18 contemporary artists. 

Moroccan artist Laila Benhalima

Among the white walls hang a motley collection of explorative paintings, photographs, collages, and three-dimensional work. In a lively breath fitting for the summer of 2023, these artists welcome complementary themes of chaos and peace, tradition and innovation. From the passionate expression of paint onto canvas to the cutting-edge investigation of AI in artwork, viewers are invited into the thoughts and manifestations of artists in a room filled with summer air.

Paintings at the Abla Ababou Gallery

Upon entering, visitors are greeted by shimmering metal works and personable compositions, and enticed by the vibrant colors of experimental photography. Sonia Hamza, a seasoned photographer, harnesses the aesthetics and advantages of digital photography to produce a post-covid reaction. Hamza’s distillation of the pandemic can be seen in the chaotic and colorful movement of her images, all of which reflect the initial confusion of the pandemic followed by the world’s lively resurrection in recent months. 

For Hamza, producing these images was therapeutic, as she describes: “COVID really broke my energy a lot and I was working on my archives only…So the lockdown was terrible for me, as for many people, obviously. But it was so hard to keep going and be strong again. So you can imagine someone in a cage, obviously, because you lived that as well. So it was difficult. And that’s why when I could come back to Morocco, it was, ‘Wow, I was back again to life.’”

Visitors enjoying artwork at the Abla Ababou Gallery

To produce the images, Hamza employed an elongated exposure technique, extending the shutter speed to three seconds to represent the three years of the pandemic. The result were strokes of light across Moroccan metropolitans, an acknowledgment of a salutary entry to post-COVID life. Hamza’s photographs embody reawakening and capture a heartfelt glance into the revitalized Moroccan cityscape.

Presented on the other end of the gallery are the collaged cityscapes of architect, urban planner, and artist Zora Lahlou, who evokes the charming essences of Tanger and Rabat at the heart of a golden, bewitching summer. At first glance, singular photographs of the urban landscape create a warm festive spirit; at a second glance, memory and life take root in these carefully selected and layered photos, vibrant with people, lions, a flag, and a sheshia moving within Lahlou’s collage. 

Senior Advisor to King Mohammed VI at the art gallery

Detailing her compositions, Lahlou elaborates, “Just one image has the power to evoke the essence of Moroccan cities and reveal their charm… “The Secret Garden” is the title I gave to my composition of Rabat, as every journey through it unveils new wonders and a sense of serenity…Tangier, with its gentle and almost transparent essence, soothes my soul. It’s the summer capital.”

To create a container for a warm, summer “prayer” which  Tanger symbolizes for Lahlou, she has spent over a year experimenting, selecting photographs, “erasing boundaries,” and cohesively weaving carefully selected images to present this “oasis of dreams.” 

Visitor enjoying artwork at the Abla Ababou Gallery

Read also: Self-Taught Moroccan Artist Hajar Lmortaji Shines in Abstract, Figurative Expressionism

In staunch contrast to the traditional mediums depicted throughout the gallery, artist Christian Mamoun introduces the up-and-coming world of AI artwork. Encompassed in pastel tones and surrealist motifs, Mamoun’s work explores the frontier of computer-generated images utilizing Moroccan landscapes and fantastical scenery.

For Mamoun, AI is a fruitful method of artistic expression and craft; “I think that it will be a really big thing in the future for image making, and it’s good to embrace it since it will not go away. I consider it as a tool…It’s creation. In the way I use it, I had a concept first, and then I created images from and around this concept. In this case, it’s just really a tool. It’s not something that imitates art.”

Visitor enjoying artwork at the Abla Ababou Gallery

In consideration of summer, Mamoun generates images that transpose sensations of flying, weightlessness, and freedom, inviting the viewer to release their worries and succumb to the blissful indulgence of summer. On the edge of uncharted territory, Mamoun investigates classic concepts of joy and freedom with an innovative contemporary twist.

This exhibit will be on display until July 29, from Tuesday to Saturday (10-1 p.m. and 3-7 p.m.), presenting further artists who have each envisioned sunny days and summer dreams through their individualized mediums: Laila Benhalima, Florence Arnold, Souhail Ben Azzouz, Itaf Benjelloun, Hélène Brugnes, Guy Calamusa, Jean Henri Compere, Malika Demnati, Najoua El Hitmi, Ines El Mansouri, Michael Gatzke, Christophe Miralles, Mohamed Mourabiti, Ilias Selfati, and Gérald Valmer.