Exhibition “La Paillade Not The Movie” by photographer Yoriyas

For the 4th exhibition of the gallery "L'Art est Public", UNI'SONS invites the photographer Yoriyas for a carte blanche around his exhibition "Casablanca, Not the movie".

Most people have seen the movie Casablanca. In fact, the film wasn't even shot in the city; it was filmed in a Hollywood studio. Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco, where people meet, do nothing, trade, work, and flaunt their appearances, cultures, and identities.

It is a city of diverse cultures, as urbanization transforms the environment; East and West, tradition and modernity, community and individuality create moments of contrast and fusion. Some of these moments occur every day, others only occur once. Through a photograph, we can possibly see, appreciate, reflect, misunderstand, and care more about a scene that we probably wouldn't have noticed if it hadn't been captured.

''Casablanca Not the Movie'' is a long-term project started in 2014, it is an insider's look at the vibrant reality of Morocco's largest city, focusing on the strange and exciting mix of contrasts that mark the metropolis's daily life; from the perspective of a Moroccan, who was born, raised and still lives there.

Workshop: Carte blanche to Yoriyas

On the occasion of the Euro-Africa Biennial, the Moroccan artist will offer us a visual arts performance installed in the public space whose journey will shed light on contemporary issues linked to the countries of the Mediterranean basin, Africa and Europe.

Based on Yoriyas's approach of intuitive observation of urban/public space, he creates photographic works that explore the connection between Montpellier, a Mediterranean city, and Africa. These works will then be exhibited in the La Paillade district.

This photographic installation, starting from the gallery "L'Art est Public" - UNi'SONS Haut de Massanes - will traverse the urban space. A loop posed through the unique perspective of young residents (of the neighborhood) with a photo for each starting point. This journey will therefore be infinite since it will be renewed each time from a photo. Like a compass, this itinerary is intended to be both a poetic and urban narrative, redrawing the map of the Paillade neighborhood.

Photography/Printing/Hanging/Collage Workshop led by Yoriyas with a group of 12 young people from different backgrounds.

"Photography can have a political, social, or cultural dimension. When we talk about the street, it's also a way of evoking the changes taking place in a country!" Yoriyas