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Through the summer of 2015 Art Jameel, in partnership with Edge of Arabia, features Artist-in-Residence Sara Ouhaddou (b. 1986 in Morocco, lives and works between Paris and Morocco). Ouhaddou is taking part in a residency program in Brooklyn, New York at the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP).
 

ART JAMEEL saraouhaddou1CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Sara Ouhaddou; embroidered cloth from the Titaween Project; ‘From the Red clay of Ourika Valley to the Porcelain of Limoges,’ porcelain tile. All images courtesy of the artist.
 
Sara Ouhaddou is an artist and designer dedicated to preserving and reinterpreting the dying craft techniques of her home country Morrocco, using them as the base for her contemporary art practice. During her residency in New York City, Ouhaddou is adapting previous explorations in textile and ceramic tile though glass.
 
Ouhaddou’s ongoing exploration of traditional Moroccan designs and forms began in 2011, when she first started researching Islamic geometry. Imbued with strong spiritual and cultural significance, Islamic geometry forms a longstanding cultural language used in craft, architecture, clothing and art across the Islamic world.
 
Motivated by a curiosity around adapting this visual language to modern forms, as well as a desire to support traditional craft techniques at risk of being forgotten in contemporary Moroccan society, Ouhaddou set out to collaborate with craftsmen and women in her home country. In doing so she created modes of dialogue between artisans as well as supported micro-economies.
 
ART JAMEEL saraouhaddou2TOP & BOTTOM LEFT: Sara Ouhaddou with a ceramic tile and working in her studio. RIGHT: Tessellation of geometric forms in ceramic tile, made from natural clay
 
Working closely with master craftsmen in South Morocco’s Ourika Valley to use locally sourced natural clay, Ouhaddou’s handcrafted ceramic tile collection is influenced by the delicate mosaic tradition of Fez with its Spanish and Arabic roots. Each tile, of which there are five distinct patterns, is hand sculpted and unique as a result of the firing technique, which creates subtle variations. The works combine handcrafted detail with a contemporary dynamic tension evoked through a bold use of space and depth. Ouhaddou later developed a partnership between the craftsmen of Ourika Valley in Morocco and the craftswomen of Limoges in France, to create a collection of tiles in thin, almost translucent porcelain.
 
Tetouan, a town in North Morocco, is known for its unique embroidery patterns that developed through historic cultural links with Andalusia, Spain. Working with young student in the Dar Sanaa School, Ouhaddou developed a curriculum to teach traditional embroidery and to explore modern adaptations of classic motifs through embroidery on textile, as well as on recycled scraps of rubberized-cloth. Young women with restricted schooling, the artist’s collaborators worked with her to create a range of adaptations, gaining skills and economic opportunities through the process. Through sculpting, layering, embroidering and polishing rubber scraps, Ouhaddou also worked in Tetouan to design a series of modern stools. Ouhaddou also partnered with Berber communities in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains to re-launch collectives of women led, societies of weavers, working to create a modern collection of fabric and carpets using traditional weavers’ techniques.
 
ART JAMEEL saraouhaddou3ABOVE: Craftswomen working to adapt Ouhaddou’s designs to traditional techniques; textiles embroidered with evolving pattern adapted from traditional Tetouan designs
 
During her residency at the ISCP, Ouhaddou aims to explore adaptations of her designs in glass, partnering with small-scale glass artisans in Brooklyn to develop models she can use on her return to Morocco. Handmade glass, once a staple in Morocco, has been largely abandoned in the face of mass-produced glassware. Ouhaddou hopes through her work to help revive traditional techniques in collaboration with locally based craftsmen.
 
Ouhaddou was selected for the ISCP residency along with Ayman Yossri Daydban (Palestine/Saudi Arabia) and Zeinab Shahidi Marnani (Iran) from over 200 applications submitted by artists living and working across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This is the second annual collaboration between the ISCP, Art Jameel and Edge of Arabia.
 
MG 7018ABOVE: Tessellation of geometric forms in recycled rubberised cloth and silk embroidery form the top of a stool design. Image courtesy of the artist.

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