An eclectic collection of different concepts and mediums, the YMA (Young Moroccan Artists) exhibition is coming to London’s Sulger-Buel Gallery this month with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in the UK.
London’s Sulger-Buel Gallery has been responsible for collecting and studying African art since 2014, with its creator Christian Sulger-Buel gaining experience in the field over more than 30 years. With this in mind the travelling YMA exhibition encapsulate the wide range of art being created by upcoming Moroccan artists, with each artist taking inspiration from their unique environments and upbringing for a vast and extensive visual journey.
Among the artists featuring in the exhibition is Nafie Ben Krich. Born in 1988 in the northern city of Tetouan, Nafle is a connoisseur of the absurd and tragic, poking fun at modern consumerism through his drawings and sculptures. One of his strangest and most mesmerising works, ‘Chicken Ball II’ (pictured above), utilises chicken feathers and gold leaf on polyester mould to create headless and wingless hens: a careful blend of ridiculous and luxurious which is, in equal parts, beautiful and very strange.
The exhibition also features works by El Jadida’s Eliassaa, Belgian-born Nasrine Kheltent, Mohammed Saïd Chair and Rachid Ouhnni, as curated by Salé-born artist Madiha Sebbani. Established in a range of artistic disciplines including visual and performance art, Madiha channels her military upbringing into a wider conversation about authority and power. Since graduating from the National Institute of Fine Arts in Tetouan in 2015, her minimalist performances have been showcased across Berlin, Germany and America (to name a few), with the artist also curating seventh edition of the Mastermind Art exhibition at the Venise Cadre Gallery in Casablanca, Morocco in 2018.
The YMA exhibition takes place from 16-30 May in London before being transported to the KFW-DEG Bank in Cologne as part of their cultural program.
For more information, visit the gallery website.
