Yasmina Alaoui's indigo-infused abstractions debut in Rome

Franco-Moroccan artist Yasmina Alaoui (born 1977, New York; lives in Marrakech) presented her first Italian solo exhibition at Anna Marra Contemporanea in Rome on November 16, 2022, as part of the group show 'Between Now and Then. The Moroccan Wave,' curated by Silvia Cirelli. Alaoui's work, notably 'Blue Plaster Square #1' (2017), employs natural indigo pigment—the same used by Tuareg people to dye their tagelmust headwraps—for its instability and organic change over time. She collects local materials like camel bones from the desert near Marrakech, boiling them for hours before incorporating them into her pieces. Her abstract geometric compositions blend natural and artificial elements, including the eight-pointed star symbol found in Islamic culture. Alaoui's scientific background (biology, anthropology, geology at the College of William and Mary) informs her material-based approach. She began her art career unexpectedly in 2002-2003 by painting on photographs by her partner, fashion photographer Marco Guerra, creating the '1001 Dreams' and 'Hammam Memories' series inspired by childhood memories of her paternal grandmother and aunts in Morocco. Her color choices are symbolic: indigo for mutability, red for blood, green for hope after her sister Leila's death in a 2016 terrorist attack in Ouagadougou. Alaoui works instinctively across studios in New York and Marrakech, constantly evolving her practice.