SUBURBIA

July 23, 2014

newmuseum:
“Mohamed Larbi Rahali spent two years studying painting at the Art Academy in Tétouan, but his foremost passion has always been the sea. After leaving school, he worked in a range of occupations: as a carpenter, a boat mechanic, and, most...

Mohamed Larbi Rahali spent two years studying painting at the Art Academy in Tétouan, but his foremost passion has always been the sea. After leaving school, he worked in a range of occupations: as a carpenter, a boat mechanic, and, most frequently, as a fisherman. For Rahali, the return to his artistic practice in 1984 started with a tiny doodle on a discarded matchbox, but marked a major turning point in his life. He began to view matchboxes as miniature sketchbooks that could be salvaged from the sidewalk or collected from café patrons throughout the Tétouan medina.
Omri [My Life] (1984–ongoing) is on view as part of “Here and Elsewhere,“ an exhibition of contemporary from and about the Arab world on view through September 28.
Photo: Courtesy New Museum, New York. Photo: Benoit Pailley

9:17pm | URL: https://tmblr.co/ZYxWbr1MKPAe6