Adios Sahara (2021-2023)
DISCLAIMER //
"Adios Sahara" is a project I produced before a essential awakening concerning the ethical questions inherent in photographic practice, specifically the hegemony of the Western gaze and the orientalism applied to populations of the Global South.
At the time of its creation, my photographic education was primarily shaped by the photojournalists of the 1980s-2000s, who were predominantly white men from Europe or the United States. This work is a product of that influence and was conceived, first and foremost, as a purely visual street photography project.
I now recognize the problematic aspects of this approach, including its potential to perpetuate stereotypes and imbalances in representation. I have chosen to keep this project in my portfolio not to endorse its perspective, but to acknowledge my artistic journey and to underscore the importance of constantly critiquing one's own creative practice.
It is my hope that this disclaimer provides useful context for viewing "Adios Sahara" and encourages reflection on the evolution of artistic perspectives and ethical responsibilities.
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Adios Sahara is a project produced between 2021 and 2023 that aims to explore our relationship with travel and the distorting cultural prism through which we perceive reality.
In this project, I confront two coexisting realities within this predominantly ochre country. On one hand, there is the idealized, exotic nation—a long-standing construct of Western imagination, brought to life in highly touristic areas such as the Merzouga dunes in the Sahara. On the other hand, there is the real Morocco, often raw and marked by poverty, where street scenes reveal a complex culture that starkly contrasts with the unconscious projections of the Western world.
Adios Sahara was exhibited during the summer of 2023 in Vevey at the Espace Entre Deux-Gares, with the support of Vevey's Office de la Culture and Migros. With the exhibition, a self-published edition of 100 copies was released in October 2023.