When I was a child, I used to see my mother's bare, cracked feet... - Mouna Ahizoune

A physical and poetic performance that delves into the body’s memory, maternal legacy, and the silent weight of trauma. Through symbolic gestures, fragmented monologues, and intimate rituals with stone, water, and fabric, exploring themes of pain, resilience, and transformation. Blending personal narrative with collective emotion, the piece becomes a space where memory and the tragic beauty of the body intertwine.

"Memory is a source of inspiration for many artists, as it allows them to draw on their memories, personal experiences, and emotions to create works that can awaken buried feelings in the viewer, or perhaps provoke nothing at all. The body's memory is individual and partial; these are moments in our lives that occupy a space in the body's inner landscape. (...) I later realized that pain is the only thing that justifies my existence and reminds me that I am alive in this chaotic world. There is a strange attraction to suffering, when you find yourself standing in the dark, not knowing where you are, wanting to scream but unable to do so, with nothing to hold on to. You cling to this darkness and let yourself be engulfed by it, even if it feels like trying to catch the wind with your bare hands (...)."

Mouna Ahizoune, based in Morocco, is one of the artists participating in programme Mediterranean programme . Selected by Laila Hida, she completed a one-month residency at ATOPOS CVC Office of Hydrocommons. As part of the Art Explora festival in Piraeus, Greece, she performed her piece "When I was a child, I used to see my mother's feet bare and cracked...". Listen to the text of the performance, in English and Darija, below.

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