MEMORY PLACE DESIRE: CONTEMPORARY ART OF THE MAGHREB AND MAGHREBI DIASPORA + ETHIOPIAN RESTAURANT

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Image: Brown Eyes from the series ‘Kesh Angels by Hassan Hajjaj
(Image source: http://exhibits.haverford.edu/memoryplacedesire/artists/hassan-hajjaj/)

Memory, Place, Desire: Contemporary Art of The Maghreb and Maghrebi Diaspora consisted of several pieces of art from underrepresented North African countries. To my surprise the exhibit contained many modern pieces of art, which I thoroughly enjoyed. El Seed’s In the desert of Language, calligraphy is the shade where I rest was on of the more vibrant pieces with a pop of pink paint that drew in every passerby. The calligraphy, evocative of modern graffiti, provided a contrast to some of the more serious pieces. The exhibit added a new dimension to North Africa with some of the social and political reflection.

As I walked into the room, it didn’t strike me as an Ethiopian restaurant. In California, where there is a dense Ethiopian and Eritrean population, Ethiopian restaurants are rich in culture and reminiscent of the motherland. Abyssinia, a seemingly small, hidden restaurant, did not give me this feeling. I kept thinking to myself, “Oh gosh not another one of those white version Ethiopian restaurant.” However, once I reached the dinning room these feelings subsided. The walls draped in cow skin paintings, the dim, yellow lights, and the rustic feel evoked a feeling of warmth and home. Although there were some twists to classic dishes, it still remained true to the Ethiopian style of cooking.

-Misgana Ghidewon, Class of 2018

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In the desert of language, calligraphy is the shade where I rest by El Seed
(Image source: http://exhibits.haverford.edu/memoryplacedesire/artists/el-seed/)

When I walked into the exhibit it was much smaller than what I had expected it to be. The first thing that caught my eye was the picture of the muslim woman on the motorcycle. The bright colors of the picture just drew my eyes to it. The next part of the exhibit that I saw was the video of the woman removing the crucifix from her mouth. The woman appeared to be in a lot of pain and I believe she was Muslim. This piece was a video and the woman was trying to make a statement. I think that it is so powerful that the artist can make such a statement without having to say anything. My favorite piece of the exhibit was the calligraphy that looked like graffiti. It was my favorite because I see graffiti all throughout my hometown of Philly and to see structured and meaningful graffiti was amazing. To see it be respected as art intrigued me. Hearing people complaining about “hoodlums vandalizing property” gets tired, so it was refreshing to see graffiti as an art form.

After walking in the rain because we didn’t give our cab driver the right address we had finally arrived at our destination, Abyssinia Ethiopian Restaurant. We sat down and as I looked down at the menu I was a little concerned because it was mainly in another language. It was pretty hectic trying to figure out what we wanted to eat. Once we decided on which platters we wanted I noticed that the place seemed to get a lot of business, there were people all around us at different tables. The place seemed to attract people of all races and ages. As the first plate came to the table I had a surge of nervousness because I received mixed reviews from my friends who had eaten Ethiopian food before. I’m pretty adventurous when it comes to trying new food yet I still found myself to be a little nervous to be trying something this different. I started eating from the vegetarian platter and the lentils had a really good taste to them and I found myself enjoying that more than the meat at times and that was surprising because I’m a proud carnivore. The meat combination platter came out and I was just as satisfied. Each meat had a distinct spice and it was appealing to my taste buds. Eating with my hands was a new experience but I actually didn’t mind it. It was messy at time but that was all apart of the experience. I enjoyed eating in a new way, I enjoyed getting to know the cultural and traditional eating practices of another group of people. I liked to see the differences between what I’m used to and what they are used to.` I left the restaurant satisfied and eager to go back for more.

-Jazmine Smith, Class of 2018

For an introduction to contemporary art of the Magreb see this piece written by Carol Solomon, the exhibit’s curator

Hear from two of the artists featured in the exhibit:

Multimedia artist Mohamed El baz

Sculptor Mustapha Akrim

Watch the video of the installation of Mounir Fatmi’s piece “Hard Head”: