This work isn’t about the glamour of travel. It’s about the unspoken side of displacement
Marrakech – It’s a quiet evening in Casablanca, the city alive with its usual hum, and the “Espace Rivages” glowing softly in anticipation of a special night.
On January 9 at 6:30 PM, the Hassan II Foundation for Moroccans Residing Abroad will host the opening of “Cartographie du deplacement,” an exhibition by Yassine Chouati, a Moroccan-Spanish artist whose work feels like a conversation between his past and present.
Yassine Chouati isn’t just your everyday artist. Based in Spain, he boasts an academic pedigree that would make even the most seasoned scholar envious — a doctorate with international distinction, a Cum Laude qualification in art and heritage, a master’s degree in contemporary art, and a bachelor’s in fine arts from the University of Seville.
He’s exhibited in Spain, Sweden, and Mexico, joined artist residencies in Spain, and pursued research in Denmark, Finland, and Brazil.
That’s a lot of stamps on his passport, isn’t it?
His work is about the quiet ache of uprooting, the strange beauty of feeling untethered.
Themes like exile, disorientation, and solitude aren’t just academic concepts for Chouati; they’re deeply personal.
His art, from drawings to serigraphs and lithographs, invites viewers to confront these emotions, offering a narrative that’s fragmented yet strikingly relatable.
“This exhibition goes beyond being just an artistic gathering,” Chouati says in a press release.
“It becomes a bridge between my present and my roots, a profoundly meaningful return to my homeland. It symbolizes an intimate reconciliation with the place of my birth, creating a subtle dialogue between what I left behind and what I’ve built far from the shores of my childhood.”
And doesn’t that resonate with all of us in some way?
Whether we’ve left a city, a person, or just a version of ourselves behind, Chouati’s work whispers a truth: memory and melancholy are universal companions in the human experience.
If you’re in Casablanca between January 9 and February 8, take a moment to visit the Espace Rivages.
Stand before Chouati’s art, and let it nudge you into its world — a world of maps not just charting geographical movement, but the intricate, often fragile terrain of the heart.
