ricochets (this time it's personal) - Exhibition by QANAT collective

Out of doors
Ocean Weekend
All audiences
Exhibition

Rooted in histories of water and ecological infrastructures, the exhibition ricochets ("this time it's personal") gives voice to tired djinns, mysterious aquatic creatures and exhausted tourist operators. It deciphers the politics of creating and redefining spaces-images-territories and the right to belong to them.

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Ricochets (this time it's personal) is an exhibition proposed by the QANAT collective in dialogue with the Youmein Festival, hosted in Tangier's old customs house and featuring works by artists and writers Mehdi Ouahmane, Islam Shabana, Mati Jhurry and Aicha Bint Yusif.

Expanding on some of QANAT's work of recent years and projects selected as part of the 2024 edition of the Youmein Festival dedicated to Steadfastness/صمود, Ricochets (this time it's personal) gives voice to subterranean entities and underwater creatures that persistently and enduringly subsist in the darkness of moments of profound transformation.

Featuring tired djinns, resilient orcas, silenced tourist agents and inhabitants dispossessed of their lands and seas, the exhibition functions as an interzone where dominant norms and narratives are twisted and renegotiated. It offers a space that hybridizes seductive and dangerous images, narratives of occupation and resistance to alienation. A space where contemporary mythologies adrift become a beacon for questioning dominant moral imaginaries, as well as the opacity of the conditions and claims of belonging.

Just as the titan Atlas is condemned to perform for eternity, we ask: who speaks and who carries the weight of the stories and imaginaries that define our contemporary world(s)?

Courtesy of the artist

Mehdi Ouahmane - Courtesy of the artist

QANAT

QANAT is a collective platform that explores the politics and poetics of water to reflect and act on multiple contextual understandings and forms of (re)production of the commons in Morocco, Palestine and beyond. Adopting the legacies of the qanat's hydraulic infrastructure and weaving them into an artistic and curatorial practice that contextually reflects on urban localities, contested histories, environmental and social injustices, and forms of solidarity and collectivity, QANAT works to create alternative, shared imaginaries. Reflecting the rhizomatic structure of the qanat system, QANAT is a methodologically diverse platform, a collective network in the making of artists, cultural activists, community practitioners and researchers, fluidly oscillating between artistic practices, social action and spatial research. Anchored in the urban landscapes of Marrakech (Morocco), QANAT has, over the years, carved channels through many other localities, building connections with resonant reflections and practices in order to weave together local struggles into transnational patterns of solidarity and mutual learning. QANAT was initiated by LE 18, Marrakech in 2017.

Mati Jhurry

Mati Jhurry is a Mauritian-Italian artist whose practice deals with the tension between the exotic and the exoticized - she engages with narratives of escapism, the images of desire they emanate and the hostilities they can veil. Mati explores the labor and politics involved in selling paradise and performing this fantasy, particularly in the hospitality sector but also in the fields of travel, leisure and wellness. She attempts to capture the representative machine of the "dream island" and the mechanisms that create luxury experiences. Mati creates art by putting her body and heritage to the test through performance, and turns to video, sculpture, collaboration and other social practices to deepen these conversations.

Francesca Masoero

Francesca Masoero works as a curator, cultural organizer and researcher. She is part of LE 18, a cultural space in Marrakech (Morocco), where she initiated QANAT. With a background in critical theory and political economy, she explores notions of resistance in multiple forms, including testing collective creation processes within and beyond the artistic field, and researching the politics and poetics related to water worlds and alternative forms of conviviality. Since 2019, she has also been working closely with the Dar Bellarj Foundation (Marrakech - Morocco).

Islam Shabana

Born and raised in the western desert oasis of El Kharga, Islam Shabana situates his work at the intersection of technology with Islamic philosophy, mythology and human cognition studies. In his works, he explores concepts such as system-social dynamics, performative religious rituals and occult practices, through poetry, simulation, science fiction and speculative scenarios. Examining how different technologies weave these concepts together, producing/reproducing structures intertwined between myth, fiction and physical realities. In such complex intersectional domains, the digital medium highlights the shift in cognitive processes, oscillating human experience and imagination between reality and hyperreality, human and non-human, physical and mental spaces.

Aicha Bint Yusif

Palestinian poet Aicha Bint Yusif grew up in the hills of Galilee and now lives in Spain. She holds a degree in English literature and a certificate in creative writing. She is passionate about poetry, languages and theater. She writes on her blog The Little Lantern on Wordpress, and @aichabintyusif.

Mehdi Ouahmane

Mehdi Ouahmane is an artist living and working in Mohammedia, Morocco. A graduate in fine arts and graphic design, Mehdi's work has been exhibited at Galerie Alyssart (2020), Galerie Abla Ababou (2019), GVCC (2018) in Morocco. His work has earned him multiple awards such as the Mophradat Self-Organizations Prize (2020) and the Young African Artists Prize (2018). Through his work, Mehdi engages with themes of environmentalism and highlights the contradictions between ecological ambitions and the environmental reality of his hometown.

Aicha Bint Yusif - Courtesy of the artist

Practical information

Address

Port Center Tanger Ville Place Bab El Marsa, Tanger, Morocco

Accessibility

Dates and times

Every day from 10:00 to 18:00

Safety

Visit itinerary

EXPERIENCES On board

Immersive exhibition "Présentes

Created in exceptional collaboration with the Musée du Louvre, this exhibition offers a reflection on the role and representation of female figures in the Mediterranean world, through an educational and sensory experience based on digital audiovisual technologies. The exhibition is divided into two parts:

  • An educational documentary on the aft deck
  • An immersive exhibition at the heart of the catamaran
Discover the exhibition

A sound journey in the Mediterranean by Ircam

Through a Sound Odyssey, Ircam and Ircam Amplify invite visitors to explore the sensations of the Mediterranean and discover new soundscapes, both imaginary and real.

Discover sound travel

© Elisa Von Brockdorff

The artists

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Partners

Frequently asked questions

Is access to the boat free?

Yes, the boat is freely accessible on site. However, you can pre-book your time online on our website.

Is there a specific dress code for visiting the museum boat?

For reasons of safety and preservation of the boat, high heels and stilettos may not be worn on the boat.

How do I get on board the museum boat?

The museum boat is open to all free of charge. To find out on which quay it will be moored, or to pre-book your slot, consult the page dedicated to your town.

Is the museum boat accessible to people with reduced mobility?

Appropriate facilities have been set up on the Festival site for the reception and access of people with reduced mobility. The boat is equipped with a 1m-wide ramp, accessible to people with reduced mobility, but may require the accompaniment of a third party due to its gradient of over 6%. Access to the aft deck and immersive exhibition is possible. However, the upper deck is not accessible. Please inform us in advance of any special accessibility requirements, so that we can make the necessary arrangements.