Mahi Binebine: Artist, Writer, and Co-Founder of Marrakech's African Book Festival

Mahi Binebine, born in 1959 in Marrakech, is a Moroccan artist and writer. After studying mathematics in Paris in the 1980s and teaching for several years, he moved to New York in the 1990s, where his work gained international recognition and entered the collection of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Returning to Marrakech in the early 2000s, he developed a distinctive practice using materials like wax, pigments, and tar to create fragmented figures that evoke memory, exile, and resilience. He is also a novelist; his book "Les étoiles de Sidi Moumen" was adapted into the film "Les Chevaux de Dieu" and inspired the creation of cultural centers by the Fondation Ali Zaoua, co-founded with Nabil Ayouch. Binebine is co-founder and president of the Festival du Livre Africain de Marrakech, which promotes African literature. His family history, including his brother's imprisonment at Tazmamart, deeply influences his work. His latest book, "Nokta," a collection of 22 short stories published by Orients éditions, takes a lighter, ironic tone, moving from Marrakech to Paris to New York and featuring characters like Sarkozy and the king. The title "Nokta" refers to irony as a form of survival in the Orient.