Montréal, Canada
Biography:
I was born in France and lived in Morocco for several years before returning to Paris and later moving to Montreal in 2003. My position is that I'm an Arab, a homosexual and an ex-muslim. I had the luxury to have seen very different sides of living. I crossed cultural, religious and political borders and boundaries in my photos.
Despite all we know about image manipulation, we still put great faith in photography as reality, especially when it comes to news from unfamiliar places. I may not initially evoke such journalistic comparisons, but I do document a certain open-ended realities in my blend of photography, performance and cultural consideration.
I created characters based on how they felt about arriving in Montreal from other places in the world. I play all the characters, male, female, young or old. I was thinking about identity, integration and immigration, and how we deal with our personality when we're away from our origins and in a new society.
Some of the images, while initially funny or playful, point to much deeper, controversial social and cultural concerns. I was afraid to be seem as a polemic, political artist but I rather say what I feel like it's important and assume the consequence than shut up behind my fear of being pointed out as "The Fagarab" ;-)
Website: www.2fikornot2fik.com
