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Marrakech Museum for Photography and Visual Art
El Badi Palace
Marrakech
Magnum photographers lens a vivid 'Portrait of Marrakech' in a new exhibition
Magnum photographers lens a vivid 'Portrait of Marrakech' in a new exhibition
The David Chipperfield-designed Marrakech Museum for Photography and Visual Art (MMP+) is set to be the largest of its kind when it is completed in 2016. In anticipation of its launch, MMP+ invited five photographers from Magnum Photos to depict the city through their individual lenses over a two-week period. The resulting exhibition, titled ‘Portrait of Marrakech’, was curated on site by the French lecturer and African-art pundit Simon Njami, and can be seen at Marrakech’s historic El Badi Palace - the museum's temporary home - until 1 February 2014. Here, we bring you the highlights from their endeavours...
Photography: © The artists/Magnum Photos
Susan Meiselas: At her pop-up studio in Marrakech’s Medina, Susan Meiselas photographed local women, then gave them the option of having the image displayed or taking 20 dirhams. For those that chose the latter, the 20 dirham note was featured instead of the portrait, resulting in a compelling piece of social storytelling.
Mikhael Subotzky: Taking to the back of a motorbike, Mikhael Subotzky mounted six cameras to a makeshift 'magic wand'. The resulting film - a still from which is pictured here - made for a fascinating, and at times dizzying, insight.
Abbas: ‘The shadow, a dark light becomes a metaphor for the city,’ says Iranian native Abbas, whose dramatic black and white images feature the narrow, walled streets of the Medina.
Jim Goldberg: The offering from Jim Goldberg is a range of monochrome and colour images that portray everyday life in the Moroccan city. ‘Respect is accepting everything as it is and not looking away,’ he says.
Mark Power: Beautifully capturing the city’s hues, Mark Power merged images in a series of impressive, large-format composites.
