SINGLE STAR Mapping Morocco’s Identity
We live at times highly dominated by politics, technology and fear. We interact with different aspects of identity on a daily basis, some are fluid like our body, interests, curiosities, needs and others are physical, visual and tactile like the urban systems we live and work within and the implications of human exchange, be they monetary or cultural. Morocco was not an arbitrary decision. The choice was to visit an organic place where visual history manifests through different aspects, where design is not necessarily needed or documented but definitely prevalent in the everyday vernacular culture. At times of xenophobia, we decided to map our journey in Marrakesh and Casablanca while being aware that the best way to represent a culture is to do it from within. The process was to research and document five cultural components: Systems (transportation, signage and wayfinding), Communication (visual, verbal, written and gestural), Aesthetics and visual narratives (architecture, color, streets), People (ethnicities, social classes, work) and Problems (political, social, communication). Moroccan cities were not only inspiring but presented abundant opportunities for subjective mapping alongside a series of insights provided by a group of Moroccan designers who showed us the hidden layers of their mother culture. The goal of this project was not to reflect an accurate image of Morocco, but to provide a series of observations through which we share views on cultural differences being an enriching aspect for any design discourse and a reason to know more about the other, who’s invested in doing exactly what we do as designers: adapt, create and communicate.
PROBLEMS
Day 1—Wednesday 4th of April
Marrakesh
Arrival at Marrakesh Menara airport
Enchained and abused Reporting on working animals in Morocco Stefan Hoja, Hana Jira
Presence of animals on Moroccan streets is high and often. People’s connection with animals is much different than the one we are used to. Horses and donkeys, used as working animals, are often seen pulling carriages with tourists or carrying lots of cargo. Their purpose is clear, they are used as a tool helping people provide for their families. But is the frequent use of working animals just a matter of long tradition or the reason is a lack of money, resources and awareness? Donkeys carrying cargo are entering narrow, crowded streets and seem really experienced in this environment. Their owners belong to a poor social class and are not able to replace them with alternative transportation methods. The health of those working animals becomes then very important for such classes for without them an important everyday tool is deeply missed and income is affected. SPANA is an organisation working on raising awareness about the latter mentioned problem. It is the oldest Moroccan animal welfare organisation, primarily focused on working animals but also providing care for stray cats and dogs. As their veterinarians describe it, people are often waiting until the last moment before bringing their animals to receive the treatment they need. The process starts with getting the animals registered and checked by a veterinarian who marks them with a green band on their leg. Consequently, working animals that lack the green band are either not checked or not
suitable for the work they’re performing. SPANA’s goal is to educate people on the importance of constant health checks for the animals in order to prevent common injuries. For this purpose they also organise mobile clinics, visiting markets with a high concentration of working animals, offering medical care and help. In parallel, they also focus on educating children and creating a different environment for future generations, clearly reflected in their center location populated with learning interactive materials evolving around subjects of biodiversity and sustainability. Dogs and cats represent a different kind of problem in Moroccan streets. A great amount of them roam around, which makes it impossible to count and track their reproduction rate and sterilise them to prevent an excessive growth in numbers. In the meantime, the city is full of cardboard sanctuaries that people make for street animals as a personal incentive, and very often accompanied with food and water. In the past twenty years, people’s attitudes towards animals have changed a lot according to what veterinarians say in Morocco, but attitudes are not enough. A change in behaviour must occur to create better life opportunities for both humans and their loyal companions.
PEOPLE
Day 2—Wednesday 5th of April
Marrakesh
Free day > First observation
Let’s talk Discovering the life of locals through dialogue Stanley Obobogo, Tooba Shahriar, Jean-François Roebers
It is expected to get lost when aiming to compare the traditions of the medina with the newer parts of Marrakesh; rich impressions of people, of their lives, their high energy and contrasting behaviors are highly present. Is tourism keeping progress on a distance? —‘The doors of all houses in the medina have the same size. You cannot tell from the outside what is behind.’ —Life is intense; it occupies our minds, especially in the medina. People seem to do one thing, is life simple for them? —‘C’est vous? Caesar, non?’ Six women sit together in the coffeeshop. —‘Alors vous vous-appelez comment?’ The owner does not agree. —‘Pas bon, les femmes là.’ He shows the two little birds behind the tap.—‘Moi, je ne suis pas de Marrakesh. Je vis à Kasbah Bab Ourika. C’est une heure en taxi.’ Do people choose to live here? Impressions and shreds of conversations. —‘Moi, je ne suis pas comme les Arabes, je suis honnête. Si vous ne voulez pas acheter, pas d’problème. Je suis Berber, je parle Berber avec mes enfants. Mais je suis Arabe, il n’y pas de difference. On est tous Marocains.’ Groups of people, layers of social classes but then again, all citizens of this country.— ‘Il est de Kasbah Bab Ourika? Oh, ça c’est different, cette place est loin d’ici. Les gens sont très differents là-bas.’—‘Life is tough in Morocco. There are villages where people really suffer. Life is very hard there.’ What about
education? And religion? —‘We have private schools, they are good. State schools are not. I had a teacher, he came once and said one phrase.’ —‘Religion? There are many people who hate religion in Casablanca. Have you heard of them?’ It is like a mosaic: colors and shapes, small and big fit together. As if our life is easy to explain. Mosaic and crafts. —‘Foreigners started renovating old riads in the beginning of the 20th century. The locals saw how valuable the traditional decorations of Morocco are.’ In the streets school children appear in white shirts. They sing a religious song. —‘My friend has a nice apartment, rents are getting higher. Like the prices in restaurants; maybe I should start a restaurant. I have already a webshop with a friend.’ A design studio, in Gueliz, Marrakesh. —‘I studied in Moscow. Competence was very good for me. I’ve learned a lot, but I came back here.’ In Casablanca we ask about their dreams. —‘I want to go to the UK. It’s nice there!’—‘I speak Russian, English, French, Arabic, Spanish. I like languages.’ Life of people is not meant to be summarized.
My dream is to live in the UK
The orangetrees you see everywhere are planted for the tourist
I speak Berber with my children.
NO, NO, NO, NO PHOTOS!
You are not welcome but your money is.
Jardin Majorelle > Carre web agency—Designers in Morocco Marrakesh Day 3—Wednesday 6th of April
COMMUNICATION The omnipresence of communication Non-verbal language in everyday life Giulia Bardelli, Feng Dai, Yi-Hsien Hung
Human communication is a broad term. The act of conveying a message, a meaning or a single information can be fulfilled by using verbal as well as non-verbal communication. Communication’s features and functions vary depending on time and space: in Morocco, it takes very few minutes to realize that non-verbal communication is omnipresent. People’s eagerness to communicate can be literally seen and heard everywhere. Everywhere around us people shout, use body language, facial expressions, eye contact, and interact via the sense of touch. Each body movement must be interpreted in conjunction with the other elements that play a role in communication, as well as in relation to the features of the context in which it is produced and used. Shyness or bashfulness are not local features: people are totally comfortable to touch one another by arms, hands, or back, while talking. As soon as the sun sets, every single part of the body starts moving to communicate and grab attention. Another Moroccan traditional form of communication reveals itself: dance. The Jamaa el-Fna market square in Marrakesh turns into a main attraction for all senses, a big draw that gathers people to dance and connect; everything moves and everything interact while shop sign and advertisements become subordinated to the presence of people and their bodies.
Even in Casablanca, it is possible to notice a gap in the fluctuation of the soundtrack of living, written communication still seems to be no longer needed in chaotic environments; in the markets, we can find more original—less refined, less disguised–ways of communication. When a seller doesn’t know English, he simply uses his body language instead of verbal communication. The product he is trying to sell becomes an extension of his body, a tool to interact and attract potential clients. Haptic communication, kinesics, vocalics, and proxemics communication silently and unconsciously rule the environment, while we—as designers— become the audience.
10:16, 06 April 2017 31° 37’ 32.16’’ N 7° 59’ 22.344’’ W Marrakech – Seeking attention for commercial purposes I
10:27, 06 April 2017 31° 37’ 33.1428’’ N 7° 59’ 18.5244’’ W Marrakech–Seeking attention for commercial purposes II
16:57, 09 April 2017 33° 35’ 35.7’’ N 7° 37’ 13.1628’’ W Casablanca–Interrupted communication
17:06, 09 April 2017 33° 35’ 41.892’’ N 7° 37’ 7.6548’’ W Casablanca–Interaction with audience
Arabic scripts dominate the streets with many alterations, forced-connections and technical issues of form and construction. Threats presented in this visual narrative are not necessarily design problems, but cultural challenges conveying an ambiguous sense of belonging and identity, one of many political implications of colonialism.
ESAV school—introduction and walk around > Menara Gardens
Until today, many countries still face post-colonial struggles of Identity. ‘The French Protectorate in Morocco’ lasted from 1912 till 1956 and its imperialist effects are still highly influencing the everyday Moroccan life in many ways. Tracing the problematic usage of language, its roots and connotations was made through a visual essay including images from the streets of Marrakesh and Casablanca. While the two official languages of the country are standard Arabic and Amazigh (Berber), Moroccan Arabic (known as Darija) is the spoken native vernacular and the dominant language in advertising and informal communication. Mapping bilingual communication in Morocco proves a strong connection between the use of French and class hierarchies : Arabic dominates the shabby streets of the Moroccan cities while French is used to imply a high value and exclude the lower classes. Accessible products are advertised in Arabic (Darija mainly) while luxury services are strictly promoted in French. However, language combinations give priority to Arabic in most official applications and signage. Street Markets are heavily populated with Arabic handwritten typography that can completely disappear in some areas where vendors rely mainly on verbal communication. It is crucial to note that Arabic typography is suffering serious design challenges in function and aesthetics; while the design trend promotes western-looking Arabic typefaces; traditional
Marrakesh
Imperialism prevails Mapping bilingual communication in Morocco Imad Gebrayel, Lori Dersak
Day 4—Wednesday 7th of April
PROBLEMS
Budget €
Arabic
Bilin
ngual
Food Commercial News Education Public usage
French
F
F F F
F
F
F
F
F F
F
F
F
F
F F
F
F
F
F
F
F F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
Distribution of Arabic and French language in a random newspaper rack in Morocco
F
F
F
F
F
F F
F
F F
F
F
F
A
F
A
A
A
A
F A
A
F
F
A F
F
F
A
F
F
12%
88%
A
F
A = Arabic F = French
Hassan mosque > Yvon Langue—presentation of his work and talk about local design Casablanca Day 5—Wednesday 8th of April ì
SYSTEMS Deconstructing the way-finding Alternative methods to move through the city Fay Teo, Weiran Han, Yanda Li, Daniel Quisek
When we walk on the road to go somewhere or hangout purposelessly, we recognize our location not only through the formal signage system such as the road numbers or transportation signage, but also according to the objects present in the environment. We can even perceive more information from these live objects which can help us to remember if we have been here before and whether we should we turn right or left. These objects could be a constantly changing pattern of the ground, the shape between the building and the sky, an impressive or strange shop, or even the sound around a certain area. Moreover, those objects represent the local culture, which changes according to different conventions, cities or countries: this is a subjectively emotional and delicate process of perception. But nowadays, it seems that the technology makes the way-finding process efficient, easy to use, but subjectively too abstract and boring. The online map uses abstract shapes and accurate locations to display where you are. People need to keep their head down and follow the given direction while ignoring their ‘human’ inaccurate perception. The process became dull. In this project, we, as foreigners, walk on a totally unfamiliar road, stay in an unfamiliar culture and try to deconstruct the environment with the elements that we are interested in. The aim is to magnify the human’s perception during the process of finding
a way and using these deconstructed aspects to investigate which objects or elements are the most memorable. We have divided our perception into four categories: looking up, looking down, building and formal signage. The objects belonging to each category are collected with a camera and represented as image. In addition to those mentioned previously, there are two Moroccan designers’ perspectives, as well: sounds and logos, which can also be interpreted as their own personal way of remembering the environment and finding the location as locals. After the deconstruction process, we tried to rebuild our memory and make a new scenario based on the memorability of the visual queues.
Up View
Formal Signage
Shop Front
Ground 0
0.1
xx xx
0.2
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xx xx
0.6
0.7
0.8 km
Up View
Formal Signage
Shop Front
Ground 0.8
0.9
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
xx xx
1.8
1.9
2.0
2.1
xx xx
2.2
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2.4 km
Up View
Formal Signage
Shop Front
Ground 2.4
2.5
2.6
2.7
2.8
2.9
3.0
3.1
3.2 km
The initial aim was to mainly underline the visual contrast between Marrakesh and Casablanca but then shifted to emphasize the differences between two visions: the European (Italian and Czech) and the Indian. After combining and analyzing the results it became clear how one’s cultural roots could subconsciously influence his investigation and comprehension of a certain topic and consequently alter the angle of the visual reportage. Despite the differences in intentions and depictions, the collective aim of the pictures conveys the fact that this uncontrolled and unexplored dimension of Morocco is what best describes its essence; in a way, Moroccan beauty lies in its chaos.
Casablanca
Moroccan aesthetics constantly portrayed to us by the Internet and the media are far different from the reality experienced on location. The country is not (only) a beautiful seaside, a rich colorful visual culture and tourism but its essence lies in what can be found in everyday street life. When approaching urban visual elements in the cities we visited, we decided to shift our focus away from what is usually portrayed by social networks and to focus on our own perception of ‘chaos’. Chaos can be found everywhere and anytime in Morocco and is constantly present in traffic jams as well as in markets and the dynamics of communication between foreigners and Moroccans, be they vendors or residents. We started our research on the aesthetics of chaos through different techniques: taking pictures, recording ambient sounds and collecting interviews with locals about the topic. While aware that the results of this research might be misinterpreted at a first impression through material representing the country as a funny circus, in a sarcastic perspective leaning towards the exotic, the project intends to convey a genuine curiosity towards the country’s aesthetics and urban visual culture while strictly avoiding a degrading gaze. The three components of this group come from different countries, which did not directly affect the research phase, but then these diverse cultural backgrounds produced three distinctly different perceptions of what is chaotic.
Day 6—Wednesday 9th of April
The beauty of chaos Indian and European perspectives in contrast Ada Favaron, Lukáš Chládek, Revati Patil
Mohamed Rahmo and designers—group work on the project
AESTHETICS
Indian perspective (Market)
European perspective (Market)
Indian perspective (Traffic)
European perspective (Traffic)
This publication is a self-initiated publication of a field trip to Morocco done by the Master Graphic Design students of AKV|St. Joost in Breda, The Netherlands. This trip took place from the 4th to the 10th of April 2017. Students: Ada Favaron (IT), Daniel Quisek (CZ), Fay Teo (MY), Feng Dai (CN), Giulia Bardelli (IT), Hana Jira (HR), Imad Gebrael (LB), Jean-François Roebers (NL), Lori Der Sarkissian (LB), Lukáš Chládek (CZ), Revati Anilkumar Patil (IN), Stanley Obobogo Badoana (FR), Stefan Christian Hoja (DE), Tooba Shahriar (IR), Weiran Han (CN), Yanda Li (CN), Yi-Hsien Hung (TW) Head of Master Programmes: Miriam Bestebreurtje (NL) Tutor: Petr van Blokland (NL) Coordinator study trip and publication: Alessandro Carosso (IT) Help with publication: Ornella Sanfilippo (IT), Sara Bagheri (IR) Big thanks to: Khalid Khachabi from Carré Web Agency (Marrakesh), Hana Tefrati from Priscilla Queen of the Medina (Marrakesh), Florence Robert-Vissy & Kenzah Atif from École Supérieure des Arts Visuels de Marrakesh—ESAV (Marrakesh), Yvon Langué (Casablanca), Mohamed Rahmo from madNess (Casablanca) And to the local designers we collaborated with: Zaynab Soulaimani, Hamza Abdessamad, Ahmed Arfaoui, Karim El Hamri, Maryam Chakouk, Achraf Younsi, Hamza Haris, Othmane Ghailane, Khalid Khouaja, Anas, Talha Chouaib, Morjani Nour Eddine, Mohamedamine Belcaid, Ayoub El Majdoubi. Printed by: UNICUM by Gianotten, Tilburg, the Netherlands Printed with the kind support of: Avans Hogeschool AKV|St.Joost, Breda, the Netherland www.akvstjoostmasters.nl © 2017