Bitwannes beek / Cherishes your company
JULY 2022 Rabat, Marocco.
From 20/07/2022-31/07/2022 I visited The Magic city Rabat, The capital city of Morocco, where they hold rich cultures and a long history.
I was invited by jidar-streetart for the 7th edition of Jidar Street art Festival to create a public mural in the district of Yaagoub-el-Mansour.
In Early 2022. When Jidar Invited me to the project I asked if it’s ok for me to developed the idea, once I arrive to Rabat.
As I believe with this process, I can create more strong work that responds to the site’s architecture, history, culture and people.
I have been practicing this process from painting a number of abandoned place for it’s shapes and use of the space, and in last few years of public mural project that allowed me to do it.
so the process starts from collecting the inspirations.
morning after my arrival to Rabat, I met Sarah the Director of the festival and and Jidar organised a Local Assistant Dounia, we went to see the location. and after seeing the location we went for walk around the neighbourhood of Yaagoub-el-Mansour.
behind the mural building (witch is a residencial apartment) there was bunch of flowers I never seen(or maybe not noticed) before, called Bougoinviller.
We walked a bit more around I noticed a lot of carpet/Tapestory was hanged out side of the house.
I took some photos and kept it in the mind later Dounia mentioned some of the designed are very particular to Rabat. after walking around the Yaagoub-el-Mansour, went to the old medina, and bought a hand made wooden chess set, and 5x Old cassette-tapes that had writing saying some musicians known in Morocco, including Warda, Hamid Zaher, Oum Keltoum, also bought some typical herbs to make tea, and fruits.
more research walks in the morning.
in the evening stayed at hotel to make some idea sketches from what I saw, and learned in last 2 days.
inspired by the shape of the building, and seeing lot of building painted in red and white, I decided to take the tapestry as a main motif, I borough tapestry shape structure, and re-make my version of it by using the local flowers and herbs. I made some drawings of the local floras based on my photos I have been taking last 2 days. and I decided to use Bougoinviller as the central flora motif, I like the interesting leafy flower structure, and it’s blooming at the back of the building where I’m painting, and also I like the fact you see it everywhere in Rabat, also I chose herbs to make tea as a flaming flora. so I made bit more detailed drawing.
I have painted off white coloured square little smaller than the wall surface, thats where my tapestry will be painted.
I used long poled generic painting roller extended to 4m, then I started to paint centre motif” Bougoinviller” with the air pumped sprayer filled with proximate 7:3/water:acrylic paint (usually used for gardening to water plants, and sometime spray chemicals.)
I have been using long extension poled rollers, and pumped sprayer when I get to paint large scale wall.
They are both tools that can’t have 100% control when used for painting compared to paint brush or spray paint(as they are not really made for it. but I like using them for number of reason.
1.It’s relatively easy to get anywhere in the world.
2.It has much longer reached comparison to say spray paint, or paint brush, also since they both hold much paint I get to make much longer marks with out refilling(dipping the brush in to the paint)
3.You gain better control by practicing, but still uncontrollableness remains.
I have been asked some times that How I enlarge the image when I paint the large mural.
there are lot of way to do this. and every artist does it differently.
I chose to the tool that has a longer reach, so I can take more distance from the wall, so I can see the bigger picture, with out using the grid, or projector, because for me art and painting was always something that associated with freedom and having fun, and this technic allow me to feel free and get to have fun.
also I like to keep the first strokes visible, because I believe that when it’s done well, it can hold strong energy, and that can be seen by people especially when they see the painting in person.
as I placed the centre flore, I paint the top to make it balanced with the centre one, with my sketch drawing I didn’t have clear image of the direction of the flora. so I picked one the ” Bougoinviller” from the side of the wall move them around in front of the wall to find good angle and take a photo with my phone. every time I’m playing with this process it reminds me of Ikebana(traditional Japanese flower arrangement study)
I have painted the flaming with all the herbal floras that they use in the tea in Rabat, Dounia supervised me witch ones to pick up from the market near the wall.
The floras as subject, and the tools I use, compliment each other as the flora is such forgiven subject, meaning it does not need to be super athcurate to be looks good, and the tools makes rough but very organic marks by nature.
using the above process I worked for 2days and half to complete the tapestry.
now I just need to think and make a one final layer.
Now I have completed the tapestry painting with local flora, and herbs.
-Bougoinviller,Sage / Selmia, Mint / Na3 Na3, Wild Mint / Flio
I wanted to add one more layer probably some letters in the middle, but I didn’t know what to write yet. I wanted to find a phrase that suits to the painting. and something that represent my experience, and interaction with people there.we spoke about the idea for the phrase, I wanted to make some positive phrase, represent welcomeness, togetherness, kindness, sharing and about some sort of connection, because that’s how I experienced Rabat, I ate Tajine together made by one of the stuff on the painting spot. we all sit around the Tajine, and eat from it by hand, the neighbour come with the tea and sweets. people look at me with curios eyes, but as soon as greet them they greets back with big smile, and also the we talked that the tapestry in where family get together in the house also.
I was speaking with the assistant crew about the cassette tape I bought in the fist days. and Dounia mentioned one of the singer Warda Al-Jazairia, in Morocco known as Warda meaning Flower. and I thought that might be perfect to borrow some lines or title of her song for the painting, because I have been painting flower all the last days.
-Warda Al-Jazairia (22 July 1939 – 17 May 2012)was an Algerian singer. She was well known for her Egyptian Arabic songs and music. Her name was sometimes shortened to just Warda (Egyptian Arabic: [ˈwæɾdæ] meaning
she is not from Morocco but her music was widely known and loved by people in morocco.
Dounia told me that her mother used to listen to Warda, and she told me her mothers favourite songs, witch are
-Bitwannas beek / cherishes your company
-Fiyoum wail / in the day and night
I listened to the songs, Her mother told us the “Bitwannas beek” is the most known song.
when we get back tothe painting location, we had Tajin together again with all the crew that Adlfman made on the spot. we talked about the Warda, and other musicians, and soungs, that they like.
We decided that “Bitwannas beek” is the good title. as It is Positive and sweet phrase.
I went up to the wall wrote the Phrase right to left and the mural was completed.
Through this process I learnt something about Rabat, Morocco’s histories, culture, nature, and people live there.
It was a very magical time I spend in Rabat.
Big Thank you to all the jider crew for ongoing hard works. and Dounia for great assistant, and sharing knowledge of her cultures.
I miss your Company Rabat, Morocco.
