Miranda Forrester

The Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden (MACAAL), Marrakech, is pleased to announce the public opening of the Joël Andrianomearisoa exhibition OUR LAND JUST LIKE A DREAM, curated by Meriem Berrada, from 24 September 2022 to 16 July 2023. 

 

For its very first monographic exhibition dedicated to a contemporary artist, MACAAL has invited Joël Andrianomearisoa to occupy all of the museum’s spaces in an exploration of Moroccan traditional knowledge. The artist engages dialogue with diverse artistic perspectives in a polyphonic and immersive scenography, punctuated by a selection of works from the Fondation Alliances collections. 

The exhibition’s title is a verse, a chanted poem as a mantra that speaks of origins and earth, evoking the infinite possibilities held within the material – raw material – that Joël Andrianomearisoa appropriates, reshapes, or reinvents. 

The artist is fascinated by ancestral textile arts, and has collaborated with master embroiderers from his native city of Antananarivo (Madagascar) for over two decades. More recent collaborations include weavers in the city of Udaipur (India) and a master loom-setter in Aubusson (France). 

 

The works produced for OUR LAND JUST LIKE A DREAM were created exclusively in Marrakech, making use of a variety of local artisanal techniques in sustained dialogue with those who practice them. After an exploratory residency, Joël Andrianomearisoa undertook production of original works in close coordination with experienced artisans. The resulting works are personal interpretations of Morocco’s artistic heritage as well as a tribute to hand craft. Sensitive to the materials that he encounters, the artist combines a variety of mediums with elegance and commitment. Wickerwork, metalwork, ceramics and embroidery collectively serve his poetic vision through textile installations, metallic sculptures or drawings on organic paper; all possibilities offered by the artist’s host territory. 

 

This same quest for resonance led Joël Andrianomearisoa to engage in visual conversations with six artists, including Amina Agueznay (Morocco), Clotilde Courau (France), and Hindi Zahra (Morocco). As they explore goldsmithing, wood engraving, or sound, each of his accomplices – visual artist, actress, or musician – responds to the poetic perambulation of matter created by Joël Andrianomearisoa. 

 

“OUR LAND JUST LIKE A DREAM is also an invitation to adopt new ways of experiencing relationships between matter and territory, to defy the fragile frontier that separates art and artisanry, and to bear witness to secular transmission.” Meriem Berrada 

 

This carte blanche is the continuation of a dialogue between MACAAL and the artist on the themes of memory and transmission, begun during his participation in What Is Forgotten And What Remains (Ce qui s’oublie et ce qui reste), the Africa2020 Season exhibition presented at the Musée National de l’Histoire de l’Immigration (Paris).