Afouss Hofoss

Artist
Clémence Vazard
Medium
Natural dye with henna leaf on handwoven Sirouan sheep wool, hand-embroidered with wool and silk threads.
Dimensions
200x150 cm
Date
2023
Residence
Massa Stories

In December, I was invited to an artistic residency for a week during the #4 edition of Massa Stories, founded by the artist Margaux Derhy, an annual residency project initiated in 2019. Dedicated to fostering collaboration between Francophone visual artists and the local community in the village of Sidi R’bat, Morocco. Committed to promoting cultural exchange and artistic inspiration amidst the serene landscapes of the Souss Massa region.

In this endeavor, I envisioned the creation of an embroidered piece on a canvas crafted from sheep wool sourced from the Souss Massa region.

Drawing inspiration from the vibrant cultural tapestry of the region, I undertook the process of fabric dyeing using henna, a practice deeply ingrained in the local customs. The on-site application of henna not only added an authentic touch to the fabric but also symbolized a connection to the land and its traditions.

For the embroidery itself, I utilized threads predominantly dyed using natural methods in Marrakech by Camille Bertrand.

Henna (Lawsonia inermis) is an ancient dyeing plant with a history of over 3000 years, associated with various magical and religious rituals. Its color ranges from orange to brown-red and is traditionally used by women for decorating their hands, as well as for coloring and writing messages on fabrics, clothing, and upholstery.

My work revolved around creating artworks depicting the hands of Amazigh women from the embroidery workshop, intertwining in a spirit of sisterhood.

 

''𝘐𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘉𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.''
"𝘔𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵.’’
''𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘫'𝘢𝘪 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥é 𝘢𝘶𝘹 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘦 𝘭'𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦 𝘥𝘦 M𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢 S𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘶𝘳 é𝘷𝘰𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦 œ𝘶𝘷𝘳𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦 𝘮'𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘳é𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘶 « 𝘢𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘧𝘰𝘴𝘴 ». 𝘓𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘴'𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘰𝘪𝘲𝘶'𝘪𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘓𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵é 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘴, 𝘷𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘵 à 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦 é𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘓𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦 𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘨é 𝘢𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘦 𝘭'𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘳, 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘦, 𝘒𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘩𝘪𝘫𝘢, 𝘏𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘺𝘢, 𝘏𝘢𝘫𝘢𝘳, 𝘕𝘦𝘻𝘩𝘢, 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘢𝘮, 𝘎𝘩𝘪𝘻𝘭𝘢𝘯, 𝘈ï𝘤𝘩𝘢 𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘪.''

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