I Had to Burn These Landscapes to Reconcile 2023 - ungoing
Extraction of Maktub: The Dutch landscape manmade, structured, and controlled stands in stark contrast to the Moroccan landscape, which feels raw, organic, and untamed.
As part of this project, I investigated the relationship between Moroccan and Dutch landscapes. I created collages based on research into the cliché imagery of both countries, using archival photographs I took over the past five years while working across these two lands. For me, the landscape plays an essential role in exploring belonging and identity.
The Dutch landscape manmade, structured, and controlled stands in stark contrast to the Moroccan landscape, which feels raw, organic, and untamed. Growing up in the Netherlands, I was deeply influenced by its constructed nature, while simultaneously longing for the landscapes that shaped my ancestral memory. I began to think of these spaces as diasporic landscapes, places that hold both presence and absence.