We carried out this installation from September 9 to 16, 2012 on the Digue du Large. A week in front of the sea, drunk with the wind and the sun, doing this ridiculous and magnificent gesture together. The work withstood a force 9 mistral, but not a few human hands. We have seen of our work only what we give you to see here. Barely completed, the installation was destroyed by a passer-by from La Digue and not a single gold leaf was found around it! We will never know what displeased him so much, or perhaps this passer-by got caught up in the work, seeing in it valuable material ? The investigation was vigorously carried out within the Port and will remain unanswered: who stole the gold from Africa ? that was the question asked, they simply told me at the security service secretariat… The two days that followed, we again covered a few blocks with what was left of the adhesive, to finally see from the sea, during a boat trip, the bursts of light from Golden Africa…
Adrift project
Hassan Darsi was born in Casablanca.
After seven years of artistic studies at the Ecole Supérieure des Arts Plastiques et Visuels de Mons in Belgium, he returned to Morocco in 1989. In 1995, he founded La Source du lion in Casablanca, which he defined as a project of artist and maintains, in the form of the Passerelles Artistiques, close links with his personal work.
Hassan Darsi's artistic activity is strongly influenced by his experience, his daily life, his environment, based on work processes, multiple mediums, and often in the form of participatory projects. His work has always been closely linked to the social, cultural, political and economic context of his country as well as its interactions with the global context. His journey brings together gestures and productions that challenge the simple art object as a horizon of creative activity. The action and the process are as important in his approach as the work itself. A citizen above all, commitment is an essential factor in his life as a man and an artist. The works and projects that he develops are characterized by a critical and socio-political positioning which is expressed through the notion of project, as a privileged tool of action. The urban interventions, installations, films and sculptures that he has created are nourished by the context where he lives and works, as well as the places and situations that cross his life.
He is deeply convinced that art has an essential role to play in the cultural and human development of his city, his country and the world as a whole, and for many years he has tried, on his own scale, although very small scale in relation to a vast project, to signal, highlight, and carry out works and projects as triggers for citizen and political awareness.
Today, after having often made the city his favorite terrain, his desire is to explore other often forgotten public spaces, those of the countryside of the Greater Casablanca-Settat region, symbolically located between the economic capital, Casablanca, and the political and administrative capital of Rabat. Its objective is to experiment, based on a project and a context, with new practices and artistic forms, to create a common thread which contributes to weaving social bonds. A project which is part of the artistic field while proposing possible social, ecological and economic alternatives to a territory. (FRD)
EXHIBITIONS (selection)
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UNIVERSAL EXHIBITION, Dubai, 2021-2022
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THINKING THE POSSIBLE, Charleville-Mézières, 2021
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LOOKING IN LOOKING OUT. Boston university, 2019.
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ENTROPY, I WRITE YOUR NAME. Store des horizons, Grenoble, 2019.
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OWNERSHIP. Art Space, Casablanca, 2018-2019
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GOLD. Mucem, Marseilles, 2017.
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CONNECTIVITIES. Mucem, Marseilles, 2017-2020.
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THE REPAIRERS OF THE SKY. L'Atelier 21 Gallery, Casablanca, 2016.
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NEL MEZZO DEL MEZZO. Museo Riso, Palermo, 2015.
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A STORY. Beaubourg-Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, 2014-2016.
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THE SQUARE BELOW. The workshop of the source of the lion, Casablanca, 2015.
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CLANDESTINE ACTIVITIES. Mons, 2015.
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1914-2014, ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF CREATION. Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Rabat, 2014.
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STRANGE PARADOX, Mucem, Marseille, 2014.
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IT TOOK LITTLE. kunsthalle of Mulhouse, 2014
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GLOBAL ACTIVISM. ZKM, Karlsruhe, 2013.
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SITES AND OTHER APPLICATIONS. Bozar, Brussels, 2012.
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FROM ONE TO THE OTHER, FULL SUITE. French Institute, Rabat, 2011.
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ORDINARY MUTATIONS. Gallery L'atelier 21, Casablanca, 2009.
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PARTY EMPATHY, ELECTIVE AFFINITAS. CRAC, Sete, 2009.
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EDGE AND OVERFLOW. Villa des Arts, Casablanca, 2009.
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TRAVERSIA. CAAM, Las Palmas Modern Art Center, 2008.
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REREADING THE FUTURE. Prague Triennial of Contemporary Art, 2008.
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IN THE DESERT OF MODERNITY. HKW, House of World Cultures, Berlin, 2008.
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RE-ASPORA. Mamashowroom Gallery, Rotterdam, 2007.
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CONTEMPORARY ART IN MOROCCO. Faulconer Gallery, Grinnel Iowa, 2007.
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ZONDER TITEL. Muhka, Antwerp, 2007.
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MAKING SENSE IN THE CITY. Ghent University, 2006
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PHANTOM SCENES IN GLOBAL SOCIETY. Biacs 2, Seville, 2006.
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DAK’ART. Dakar International Biennial of Contemporary Art, 2006.
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h + m = 10. Le Garage art center, Mechelen, 2003.
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THUPELO WORKSHOP. National Gallery, Cape Town, 2003.
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WITHOUT APPARENT REASON. Schiedam art library, Rotterdam, 2001.
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DAK’ART. Dakar International Biennial of Contemporary Art, 2000.
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NOMADIC LOOKS. Museum of Fine Arts, FRAC Franche-Comté, Dole, 1999-2000
WORKS IN PUBLIC SPACE
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MARHABANE, Casablanca LGV station 2019
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THE HEAVENLY BOUNDARIES, Marrakech 2017
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GOLD OF AFRICA, Tenerife 2008, Marselle, 2013
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POINT ZERO, France, Belgium, Greece, 2009-2015
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THE RUNNING MAN, Morocco, France, Belgium, 2009-2015
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THE JETTY, Al Maaden Site, 2012
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FAMILY PORTRAITS, Morocco, France, United States, South Africa, Belgium, Holland, Spain, 2001-2018
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THE HERMITAGE PROJECT, Morocco, 2002 - 2007
VIDEOS / MOVIES:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtJLlEiwaUQLCNSE_TfbBTA
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Zone of uncertainty / Zone of uncertainty
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The trap / The trap
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The running man I, II, III / The running man I, II, III
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The roof of the world
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Or d'Afrique / Gold from Africa
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The souk / The souk
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Without a shadow of a doubt / without a shadow of a doubt
COLLECTIONS
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Museum of Modern Art - Center Georges Pompidou, Paris.
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Muhka, Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp, Belgium.
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Gallery Mc 2a, Bordeaux.
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Schiedam art library, Holland.
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FRAC Champagne-Ardenne, France.
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Zorlu Center, Istanbul, Turkey
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Ministry of Finance, Morocco.
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French Institute of Casablanca, Morocco.
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Societe Generale Marocaine de Banque, Morocco.
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Palace Es Saadi, Marrakech, Morocco.
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Diana Holding, Rabat, Morocco.
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Royal Mansour Marrakech, Morocco.
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Alliances Group, Morocco.
- Private collections.