Hand on hand contemplating the colours of Morocco
Twenty-four artists and workshops are contributing their creations to the exhibition "Hand on Hand", which is showcasing the richness of Moroccan craftsmanship at Casa Árabe's headquarters in Madrid. The exhibition, conceived by the Maison de l'Artisan, in collaboration with Casa Árabe itself and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Spain, brings together historical objects from private collections, contemporary crafts, as well as art and design projects inspired by the forms and materials of craftsmanship. Curated by Hnia del Lero and coordinated by Karim Hauser, the pieces range from tile and zellij decoration to leather tanning, as well as cabinetmaking, ceramics, embroidery and carpet weaving, all the result of the painstaking manual work that is an inherent part of everyday life in the country.
This brings together objects that have been passed down through the generations and modern art, which integrates this individualised, original and unique way of making them. It was Farid Belkahia and Mohamed Melehi, among others, who in the middle of the 20th century saw tradition as part of the future, and who were committed to making tradition part of that future through the symbols and processes of traditional Moroccan craftsmanship.
Numerous creators have taken up this legacy and are returning to the materials, forms and techniques of craftsmanship, finding in their reinvention another way of keeping it alive. Since 1957, this history in movement has found a home in the Maison de l'Artisan, founded with the aim of preserving the country's artisanal know-how. The agency supports artisan communities in the training of professionals, as well as in the production and marketing of their products.
Casa Árabe's exhibition showcases a varied selection of pieces from different regions of the country, highlighting the confluences between craftsmanship, design and art. From a set of antique taajira embroidery, the leather work of Failiha Ameur Haddad, the damascene work of Hicham Essaidi and the ceramics of Poterie Serghini, to the avant-garde furniture of Mouna Fassi and Younes Duret, the jewellery lines of Yelli and Dihyan, the kaftans of Amina Benmoussa and Fadila El Gadi, and the textile installations of Soumiya Jalal.
It was undoubtedly a good idea to place the exhibition 'The Cultural Colours of Morocco' in another of Casa Árabe's rooms, which complements, or rather underpins, the collection of handicrafts in the other exhibition.
Eugène Delacroix once said that "colours exist thanks to light, and in Morocco the most beautiful sun in the world shines". This is corroborated by this exhibition, curated by Marga Crespo, Elisabeth Eguía and Francesca Valan, the first two founders in 2001 of Innovarte, an institution that from the outset has been committed to the development of projects aimed at documenting, perpetuating and disseminating the know-how of traditional craftsmen, in whose hands the materials with which Mother Nature has rewarded Morocco are given new life.
The designer Marga Crespo and the photographer Elisabeth Eguía provide their technical service both to the crafts themselves and to the sectors of historical heritage and tourism, deriving precisely from the know-how of the former. The carefully selected and carefully curated exhibition follows on from other design and innovation initiatives by the two of them in Guatemala, Colombia, Cuba, Algeria, Ecuador, India and Palestine, as well as in Morocco.
Through this exhibition, visitors can learn about the extraction, presence or application of colour in the country's landscapes, architecture and craftsmanship. In short, it offers a chromatic story constructed from a personal gaze, recurrent travel, photographic documentation and incursions into the Moroccan craftsmanship.
