Photo Tarz Fessi school & Tarz Fessi archive piece by Saida Bennoude Azzabi
Ellae x World Museum R'dam. Art She Crafted Vol.1 Saida Bennoude Azzabi
Exhibition: No Words But Threads, World Museum Rotterdam, 08/06/23 - 22/10/23.
'Not words but threads' is an exhibition that highlights the extraordinary diversity of embroidery from around the world. This art form is presented as a form of decoration, cultural expression, documentation of stories, expression of group identity, fashion and individual identity. The World Museum Rotterdam presents more than 200 beautiful embroideries, many from their own collection. These works are not only a visual spectacle, but also reveal hidden stories.
With the special contribution "Art She Crafted," Ellae sheds her light on the archive of master embroiderer and artist Saida Bennoude Azzabi. She is a master of the Tarz-Fessi embroidery technique, which is deeply rooted in Morocco's traditional textile heritage. Her work is steeped in spiritual meaning and artistic expression, and she is committed to the preservation and continuation of this ancient tradition.
Photo embroidery - Being seen on your own terms
For spiritual reasons, Saida Bennoude Azzabi chooses anonymity as agency. She employs photo embroidery as a technique to anonymize herself in photographs. For the exhibition, she printed a childhood portrait on linen and embroidered directly onto the image. With threads and pixels, she explores ways to combine her art through a new medium, such as photography, with Tarz-Fessi.
With "Art She Crafted ," we celebrate craftsmanship and art, and with it the heritage and maker, that have long gone unseen and underappreciated. First-generation diaspora makers carry with them a wealth of traditions, knowledge and art forms. Saida Bennoude Azzabi is a maker and artist who has accumulated a large private archive over 60 years. Her Tarz-Fessi archive now has significant historical value.
Saida Bennoude Azzabi does not sell her work, but builds her archive for her family and shares her work with a wide audience for the first time at the World Museum.
Exhibition Period: 08 June 2023 - 22 October 2023
Location: World Museum Rotterdam
