Dialogue between Cultures

 

At the moment the exhibition "Moroccan Artists dialogue with Australian Aboriginal Artists" is presented in the Main Building, designed by the Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy, an exhibition that brings together 27 works by Moroccan artists linked to the Essaouira region and 22 works by artists aboriginals of Australia.

 

In the paintings of both "schools" common traits are perceived, signs of identity of each other that, although they define each group particularly, allow us to establish parallels and similarities between them: both have grown apart from any academic training; they create from within, with a special focus on the tradition, roots and beliefs of the place to which they belong. They capture their daily life and their experiences in paintings of great formal beauty and vibrant colors, loaded with symbolism, giving great unity to the whole.

 

But there are also differences between them. Moroccans sometimes use the pointillism so characteristic of the aborigines, however, the latter never represent figures: their works of dots and circles form landscapes seen from the air; others are a succession of lines that intersect and that speak of the creation of the world and their ancestors. On the other hand, Australians never sign their works, because the result of their work does not belong to them, but to their ancestors, who are the ones who have moved their hands while they painted, in a kind of artistic trance. And just like these, Moroccans belong to magical groups and their works are steeped in esotericism. It is here that both groups of artists come together again and establish a dialogue about artistic creation through alternative states of mind, which open the doors to the perception of other realities.

 

In the works of all these artists a very unique way of seeing and feeling the world is perceived.