Photographer #310: Lalla Essaydi ~ Photography Imaging

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Lalla Essaydi, 1956, is a fine art photographer from Morocco. She received an MFA at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Besides photography she uses other media as painting, film and installations. Her art often contains islamic calligraphy in combination with the representation of the female body. She addresses the complex reality of the Arab female identity. She has looked at the western painting tradition, recreating the paintings in an orientalist setting. In Les Femmes du Maroc, all the props used, including the background and the clothes, are covered in caligraphy. The calligraphy is even on the bodies of the females with the use of henna. Essaydi has exhibited extensively, is represented by numerous galleries and her work is in private and public collections. The following images come from the series Les Femmes du Maroc and Harem.