/

We worked with embroiderers from the Cooperative Tigmi in Aït Ourir and we translated in Tifinagh alphabet three words, which are the title: « Exist », « Read », « Today »; we drew the letters on fabric with henna and women embroidered repetitive, white, Amazigh symbols all over the surface, formally inspired by the traditional decoration of the veil for the wedding ceremony in the Middle Atlas region. During the embroidery we discuss about the cultural diversity of Amazigh in Morocco.

These artworks aimed to express the difficulty for an oral culture to exist in the contemporary world: every Amazigh speaks fluently Berber but very few can read and write it, and the new written language is still strange to them, because it is an oral culture.

We ask women to weave an abstract composition of Tifinagh alphabet with black and white wool, a sort of homage to Alighiero Boetti called “Tifinagh carpet”. 

Inspired by the work of Slav and Tatar, we asked the women from the Cooperative in Tighdouin to weave three big « Amazigh tongues » using different techniques. Amazing tongue-carpets are ready to speak, but it is the voice of women, who finally give them sound, meaning and technique: “Smatte”, “Okda” and “Boucharouette”.

The Article Nr.5 in the Moroccan Constitution of 2011 defines in a not very clear sentence that Amazigh is an official language, together with Arabic, but there is not any official translation into Amazigh. For the work « Constitution » we worked with embroiderers from the Cooperation for the Freedom of Weaving and Embroidery in Tameslouth. That is why we let Tameslouth’s women embroider the translated sentence into Berber. The fabric was woven from men of the Cooperation and women embroidered the letters with silver sequin that emit a thin sound. During the embroidery we spoke about the cultural diversity of Amazigh in Morocco.