Mejmou3en
Casablanca, Ouaoula, Morocco (2024)
Photography, film, audio, poetry
This project is currently on view at FOTODOK Utrecht from March 13th until April 5th. Open Fri, Sat, Sun from 11:30 - 18:00.
Mejmou3en (together) is an intuitive and personal project that emerged during my stay in Morocco in 2024. Over the course of two months, I spent much of my time with my family while also taking the opportunity to connect with people beyond them in Casablanca, my father’s birthplace. The community around me gradually expanded. In the absence of a shared language with my family, new encounters became a way for me to better understand my family and heritage.
Rooted in my own experiences and contemplations, I explored the layered meaning of family, community, and a diasporic home. A home not fixed to a single geographic location, but shaped by relationships and movement, where warmth and proximity coexist with longing and distance. Mejmou3en is a reflection on the continuing effects of migration, in which relationships shift and estrangement can occur, while at the same time new forms of connection emerge.
The work moves between documentary and poetry. Not only humans are central, but silences, spirituality, and nature also contribute to a deeper experience of (my place in) the whole. It is a philosophical approach to the visible and invisible layers of culture, migration, and family.
My time in Morocco, and experiencing a collectivist way of living, brought a new meaning of “together.” The project explores what it means when “we” holds more weight than “I,” with a growing appreciation for the significance of Mejmou3en (together).
Supported by:
K.F. Hein Funds
Creative Industries Fund NL
Fentener van Vlissingen Fund
Gemeente Utrecht
With thanks to:
FOTODOK
*See a small selection of the project below.
Dunya is an interdisciplinary artist who explores the intricate facets of human perception and connection through a documentary lens.