The work of Italian-Senegalese multimedia artist Maïmouna Guerresi invites viewers to look beyond the physical world, exploring an intimate spiritual dimension while drawing attention to their shared humanity. This installation, displayed on outdoor exhibition panels throughout the Aga Khan Park and inside the Aga Khan Museum, presents two series of works created during an artist residency at the Musée d’Art Contemporain Africain Al Maaden in Marrakesh, Morocco in 2020.

The portrait series Sebaätou Rijal (2020) symbolizes spiritual interconnectedness, while the history of Marrakesh serves as the catalyst for Guerresi’s series Villes Nouvelles and Ancient Shadows (2020), in which her images merge French colonial architecture with the traditional culture and spirituality of the region.

The architecture comprising the Villes Nouvelles (New Towns) in Marrakesh was built during French colonial rule in the first half of the 20^th century, and acts as the starting point for these works. Located outside the historic walled capital centre—the Medina—the Villes Nouvelles created a cultural and spatial division within the city. By introducing shadows into these colonial-era spaces, Guerresi aims to restore the traditional, historical and cultural realities of Marrakesh. She reflects, “I wanted to fill the void of these sun-drenched urban landscapes by inserting the shadows of hieratic human figures, animals, and architectural elements of Islam, understood as spiritual entities returning to reclaim their land.”

Guerresi’s work is influenced by Sufi traditions and teachings, including her personal search for closeness to God as a convert to Islam. The mysterious portraits in the series Sebaätou Rijal—the faces of each subject obscured—were inspired by the ancient tradition of the Seven Saints of Marrakesh. For centuries, people visited the graves of the seven saints to pray for healing and good fortune. Today, a row of seven tree-topped monuments just outside the Medina commemorate their significance. Guerresi’s anonymous portraits, symbolizing the seven saints, also evoke spiritual introspection. Inspired by the city’s colours, each figure’s dress draws attention to human interconnectedness by rejecting individualism. With this series, Guerresi aims to create universal images that dismantle stereotypical and Orientalist images of the Muslim as “other.” Drawing inspiration from Latin-Greek and African mythology, the plants held by the figures speak to the unifying wisdom of nature—one that reinforces the relationship between humankind and the universe.

Curated by Stephanie Radchenko

• Maïmouna Guerresi (b. 1951; Vicenza, Italy) works in a hybrid embrace of ancestry from African, Asian, and European cultures following her conversion to Islam. Heavily influenced by Sufi traditions in Senegal, Sudan, and Morocco, Guerresi presents an intimate perspective on human spirituality in relation to mysticism — shedding a new light on community and the soul. Recurrent metaphors such as milk, light, the hijab, and nature create an awareness of the vital unifying qualities of Islamic spirituality. The images are delicate narratives with fluid sequencing, an appreciation of shared humanity beyond psychological, cultural, and political borders.