At 1-54 Marrakech, Meriem Nour Unveils Shifting Lights

As part of the upcoming 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in Marrakech, Shifting Lights is a multimedia exhibition by Meriem Nour that offers a nuanced reflection on the representation of the female body in contemporary Arab societies. Presented at Atelier Hanout in February 2026, the exhibition brings together textile creation, image, and spatial installation in a coherent and immersive artistic language.

A Three-Part Artistic Experience

Conceived as a three-part experience, Shifting Lights unfolds through video, photography, and installation, each medium contributing to a layered exploration of how the female body is perceived, framed, and socially constructed.

The Film as a Sensory Threshold

The exhibition opens with a filmic work designed as a sensory threshold. Rather than following a linear narrative, the video introduces a suspended space shaped by movement, light, and the rhythm of the body. This opening sequence prepares the viewer’s gaze and sets an atmosphere of quiet tension before entering the exhibition space.

Photography and the Surface of the Gaze

Photography forms the second act of the parcours. Displayed on a deliberately radical black wall, the photographic series explores blur, fragmentation, and discontinuity to reflect the fragile boundary between intimate identity and public representation. Textile appears as a narrative material, often left raw through the use of untreated fabric, affirming clothing as a symbolic surface rather than a decorative element.

A Poetic Collaboration

For this series, Meriem Nour collaborated with Moroccan photographer Yasmine Hatimi, whose poetic approach and subtle visual language bring depth and nuance to the images. Her work challenges fixed representations and questions dominant visual codes, offering an alternative reading of contemporary femininity.

Installation and Bodily Presence

At the heart of the exhibition lies an installation composed of six female silhouettes, each embodying a distinct state: sensual, intellectual, punk, spiritual, poetic, and power-oriented. These figures surround a central presence, deliberately stripped of any assigned identity. Rather than presenting psychological portraits, the installation proposes bodily positions and ways of inhabiting space, expressing protection, assertion, or withdrawal.

The Garment as a Sculptural Object

All silhouettes are derived from variations of a single garment designed by Meriem Nour, a signature piece of the Hanout house. Through repetition and transformation, the garment becomes sculptural, turning the installation into a constellation of suspended presences that blur the line between fashion, object, and body.

Rethinking the Female Body

With Shifting Lights, Meriem Nour does not seek to display clothing, but to reveal how the female body is observed, framed, and negotiated within contemporary Arab societies. The exhibition approaches the body as a territory shaped by cultural, social, and symbolic forces, highlighting how clothing actively participates in the construction of visible identities.

Atelier Hanout as a Living Art Space

Beyond the exhibition, Atelier Hanout continues to establish itself as a space dedicated to artistic production and dialogue, where craftsmanship, fashion, and contemporary art intersect. Shifting Lights opens on Saturday, February 7, and will be accessible by appointment until March 31, 2026, offering an intimate and thought-provoking experience in the heart of Marrakech.