By Josemaria Moreno
Mostapha Romli is a contemporary artist born in Touissit, Morocco. He is the founder of the Casablanca International Biennale and the Maroc Premium Foundation. The San Miguel Public Library (Biblioteca) had the honor of having him give a talk about his work. Romli started as an exposé journalist, and later added different techniques to his work: screen printing, painting, and installations.
Today his work is recognized worldwide, but he had a turning point in his career. His paintings of nude women would not be exhibited in his country because of religious prohibitions. Filled with rage and as a protest, he burned his works before the cameras and fled his country. According to Morocco’s constitution, when you are born there you are automatically a Muslim. The country’s laws and king are Kafkaesque—a combination of modernity, nobility, and hypocrisy.
In his talk at Teatro Santa Ana, Romli spoke about what the criticism of his work implies. He is neither white nor black, he feels like an African wax print—the unique clothing of West Africa of Dutch origin. He has even used them in his work.
Romli spoke about his breaking point. He began to photograph human bodies, specifically female ones, and his work was censored. The public burning of his work caught the attention of the West: here was a Moroccan artist speaking out against the system. His action pointed out the reality in Morocco where naked bodies cannot be shown, even if it is done in an artistic way.
In 2020 Romli had a controversial series of artworks called “20/21.” It was named after a law in Morocco (20-21), which allows girls at age 13 to be legally married to adult men. Romli did not take long to make his complaint known through art. He explained that at the beginning of the previous century there were «postcards that everyone was happy to see» with half-naked minors which promoted the image of Moroccan beauty. Today, those postcards would be considered a “scandal.» He used them as part of his work.
Romli’s works are a strong reflection of certain Muslim cultural traditions and laws. First of all, a girl has to be trained in domestic chores, and she must learn to submit in bed to her man—as a thirteen-year-old she is actually raped. But Romli asks, “Is it the man or is it the law that abuses our girls?” His blunt reply is: «The judges are the rapists.» There are illegitimate laws and Romli points this out as one of them.
The work of the Moroccan artist was complemented by the works of Marisa Caichiolo. She is the creator of the Building Bridges Foundation based in Santa Monica, California. The foundation promotes contemporary art that encourages the interaction of artists from different countries. For anyone interested in talking and organizing something with them, they need to send a dossier, and both Romli and Caichiolo will review them with the backing of the Premium Foundation and its Casablanca International Biennial. Caichiolo seeks residences and creations in situ, while Romli offers a venue to renowned artists who need the right conditions, time, and space to create.
