While I was at university studying archeology and, later calligraphy and illumination at the Academy of Traditional Arts in Casablanca, I was drawn to symbology and esoterism. The magnetic pull of these two disciplines led me to explore Morocco’s calligraphic heritage in architecture and manuscript.
Every piece of research was an opportunity to discover meaning and to make connection with the spiritual, an experiment of thought, words, and craft that allowed me to test the limits of Arabic letters to discover the extent to which it could be deconstructed while still holding meaning.
My paintings are monochromatic and often figurative. They explore identity, knowledge preservation, and transmission. My practice is heavily influenced by ancient traditions like micrography, a form of calligraphy used in the Jewish tradition of illustration using religious texts. I would choose a Sufi word and write it again and again until the picture formed of prayer.
My work can be seen as a bridge connecting the ancestral with the contemporary—the use of modern mediums like skateboards or recycled wood serves as a tool of mediation for a younger generation often disconnected from tradition.
Med Amine Serhane is a Moroccan artist whose practice is rooted in contemporary Arabic calligraphy. Born in Essaouira, Morocco, he moved to Casablanca where he studied archeology before developing a strong interest for calligraphy that led him to train for two years at the Academy of Traditional Arts where he specialised in Maghribi script and Islamic illumination. His work has been exhibited in Morocco and internationally, and is held in public and private collections including the MUCEM (Musee des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée) in Marseille and Fondation Al Mada, Morocco.