Inspired by Moroccan artifacts and early photography techniques, two artists and Gallery 127’s director came together to produce a unique exhibition that is currently featuring online.
Rabat – Gallery 127 in Marrakech has moved their latest exhibition online, making it possible for art enthusiasts to view the exhibition during Morocco’s COVID-19 lockdown.
“The virtual visit is a way to share the works of the artists. Even though we always prefer human contact, it is a pity to keep these beautiful artworks hidden!” Nathalie Locatelli, the gallery’s founder and director, told Morocco World News.
The current exhibition is titled “A Quatre Mains” (In Four Hands) and features the collaborative work of two French artists, Sara Imloul and Nicolas Lefebvre.
Locatelli says the exhibit is the culmination of coincidences and unique ties to Morocco’s past and present. After first meeting photographer Imloul, the gallery director and artist discovered they shared a common ancestral heritage, both claiming Amazigh (Berber) familial origins.
Nicolas Lefebvre, a sculptor who spent a good portion of his childhood living in Morocco, maintains his connections to the country through his art and regular sojourns.
With the help of Gallery 127, Imloul and Lefebvre partnered to create the series “A Quatre Mains.”
Lefebvre returned to Morocco in January to hunt for artifacts that could be used to create the series. His search took him around Marrakech, through the Sahara, and all the way down to Essouria. The sculptor used pieces of cloth, desert stones, an Amazigh candlestick, and other historical objects to create his latest works.
Imoul photographed Lefebvre’s sculptures using calotypes, a photographic process introduced in 1841. She took the photographs inside Gallery 127’s art space. Her representation of the sculptures is meant to take on a timeless quality, likening them to ancestral archives.
The virtual gallery, a tour of the Marrakech art museum’s space, exhibits Lefebvre’s works accompanied by Imoul’s photographs.
The video is set to the backdrop of a Glenn Gould variation of one of Bach’s classical compositions and allows viewers an inside look at the curation process through photographs of the artists working to set up the gallery space.
Posted on Gallery 127’s website, the video was produced in an effort to share art under Morocco’s quarantine, expected to continue until May 20.
Although the exhibit was scheduled to end before April, Gallery 127 will continue to host the artists’ work for a few weeks following the government’s authorization to reopen the exhibition space.
