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The square below

Using model projects as so many triggers for raising awareness, Hassan Darsi focused this time on the fate of Legal Frères et Cie, a building located on avenue Mers Sultan, overlooked by the Atelier de La Source du Lion. A former wood processing factory founded in 1921, the Maison Légal Frères et Cie, witness to an emblematic period in the history of Morocco and revealing architectural and industrial practices specific to this history, was then abandoned since its closed in 1932. The building, deserted and falling into disuse, had since remained closed to the public. Passers-by from Casablanca, foreigners and local residents rubbed shoulders with her, questioned her, ignored her or forgot her. From the Atelier de la Source du Lion, on the sixth floor of the building opposite, Hassan Darsi has seen this strange and astonishing building every day for 6 years, erected like a piece of the contemporary history of the people of Casablanca. By reconstructing it as a 1/50th scale model, with the participation of the other, Casablanca resident or visitor, he opened the doors of the possible: new history, new form and new questions. The model of Legal frères et Cie, looked at in detail and placed at the heart of artistic collaborations and exchanges with citizens, has as its philosophy the need to reflect together on the social and urban realities that we do not take the time to look at.

 

(The project was carried out in collaboration with La Source du lion

and was financed by AFAK, Moussem Festival, The Tamaas Foundation, The School of Literature, the Source of the Lion and Hassan Darsi).

http://www.lasourcedulion.com/le-square-d'en-bas.html

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