Marrakech Hosts Lalla Essaydi’s Captivating Exhibition on Gender, Identity

This captivating showcase ignited inspiring conversations about a deeper understanding of the diverse narratives that shape our lives.

The renowned visual artist and photographer Lalla Essaydi makes her grand return to Marrakech, her hometown, with the captivating exhibition “L’invisible devoile” (Unveiling the Invisible) at the “Dar El Bacha” Confluences Museum.

This exhibition invites visitors to navigate the themes of gender, identity, and cultural history.

Organized by the National Foundation of Museums, the opening event on Monday was attended by prominent figures including the wali of the Marrakech-Safi region, Farid Chourak, and Mehdi Qotbi, president of the National Foundation of Museums, alongside a diverse crowd of artists and cultural figures.

The exhibition shines a spotlight on Essaydi’s famous “Harem” series, which delves into the intricate social and historical constructs surrounding the concept of the harem; a traditionally private space for women in the Muslim world.

This fascinating collection, produced in 2009 at the Palais Dar El Bacha, features striking portraits of women adorned in intricately patterned caftans, their bodies enveloped in Arabic calligraphy written in henna.

Through her lens, Essaydi presents these women seamlessly intertwined with the zellige tiles and sculpted woodwork of the palace, transforming them into integral decorative elements of the space. Her artistic vision challenges and reinterprets these social constructs, offering an intimate perspective on the lives and roles of women within these enclosed environments.

Essaydi also employs Arabic calligraphy, a practice often dominated by men, to write on the faces, hands, and feet of the women, using henna, a tradition rooted in femininity, to transcend societal codes.

In a statement to Morocco’s news agency MAP, Qotbi expressed his delight in welcoming such a celebrated artist back to Dar El Bacha, where she conceived and created these works over a decade ago. He emphasized that this collection not only revisits history but also recontextualizes the photographs within a space rich in narrative.

“This is a place where we also showcase Morocco’s artisanal culture, which has thrived for centuries,” Qotbi noted, highlighting Essaydi’s remarkable opportunity to be featured in major museums worldwide.

For her part, Essaydi shared her excitement about returning to Marrakech, particularly to the Confluences Museum, where her artistic journey began. She explained that her work has always been haunted by the concept of space, both real and metaphorical, remembered and constructed. Her photographs emerge from a deep desire to rediscover her identity and immortalize the real spaces of her youth.

Currently residing between Morocco and the United States, Essaydi holds a Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts/TUFTS University in Boston, where she first began experimenting with photography; her medium of choice.

Her photographic works have been showcased in major U.S. cities such as Chicago, New York, and Boston, as well as internationally in countries including England, France, the Netherlands, the UAE, Japan, Azerbaijan, and Singapore.