سجن الوطن ولا حرية المنفى Jail in my native land to freedom in exile, 2017

Neon, 160 cm x 40 cm

"Jail in my Native Land to Freedom in Exile" is an Arabic quote inscripted in Blue Neon from the book "For bread alone" of the Moroccan writer Mohamed Choukri. The work addresses the dialogue between the site and the experienced-based book on the author's life. This novel was one of the first Arabic books to tackle the taboos regarding North African societies during the time between the 30s and the 50s. It reveals the social and political structure of colonialism through the misery of Choukri’s childhood and adolescence, who followed his family in the exodus from the Rif to Tangier,  where he resided until his passing in 2003. A dreadful childhood: violent father, beaten mother, assassinated brother, unschooled, lost hope, child prostitution, rape, drugs, poverty, homelessness ...

The installation took part in a group exhibition of site-specific works where the artist explored the site la Prison du Mechouar in Tangier and created the artwork accordingly to the novel-related approach. 

The book was published in 1973 and censored on its release in Morocco until 2000.