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Zainab Ahl Andour – Laayoune

Visual Artist

My name is Zainab Ahl Andour. I am from the South, from Laayoune.

My work as a painter has been affected by the environment of the desert. I have grown up in the family and tribal traditions there and that affects me a great deal. Within my paintings I express the celebration and joy that comes out of life and also the miseries that sometimes a woman goes through because of the norms and way of life there.

The concepts and ideas that appear in my paintings come from the environment that I have experienced in the desert. A woman here, according to tradition, is basically limited to her tent and its boundaries. They are just expected to take care of children, cooking and all the affairs of the family and not to look into the outside world. I respect that, but I think the role of the Sahara woman is more than that, and in my work, I try to express it by looking into the Sahara women, at what preserves her tradition but at the same time by opening to the outside world, allowing her express herself to the outside world and to other women. I am trying to find a balance between that and preserving her status traditionally, with respect to the limits of society.

Through my work I try to express myself, to express the frustrations and burdens that I feel as I am obliged toward society. Through my art I express this. Just like a writer who writes in a journal or a musician who does in a piece of music, I do this in my art work.

Translated by Saleh Al-Hathloul