MOUS LAMRABAT - A CROSS CULTURAL MIND MAKING SENSE OF THE WORLD

As the world is going through a major transitional shift with the recent resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement and other popular uprisings spreading like wildfire around the globe, it is becoming apparently clear that our current binary belief system, (normal vs odd, black vs white, old vs new, west vs orient, rich vs poor, left vs right…) is becoming obsolete. Mous Lamrabat’s body of work strikes with renewed relevance as it consistently blends the lines between cultures, the present the future and the past, and defies all things “normal”, a reflection of a cross-cultural mind trying to make sense of the world, and a thought-provoking glimpse into a future where elevated art and proper representation could co-exist without compromise.

You are a Moroccan-born and Belgian raised photographer. How has your background informed your point of view as a photographer?

As a child of first generation immigrants, there is always a point in your life where you feel like you don’t fit in anywhere; not in the country you were born in nor in the country you were raised in. I felt like I was too Moroccan to fit in as a Belgian and too European to fit in as a Moroccan, and this is something that almost every immigrant has to deal with. Wherever you want to live on this planet, you will always feel like an outsider. As a result, we do our very best to be accepted and to be “normal”, consciously or subconsciously. Luckily, at some point, I didn’t want to do that anymore. I started questioning (and still do till this day) the concept of “normal” and all the standards and rules that society imposed on us. Since then, everything changed for me: the way I look at things, the way I act, the way I work, the way I think creatively… My work is a big basket of things that interest me and that mean something to me on a deeper level. So, since I grew up in Europe and lived day in and day out in a super-traditional house hold, playing basketball, listening to hip-hop, watching cartoons… these are the things that made me who I am and this is the person you see within my work. Morocco is an important and influential place for me as well because when I needed to think a lot about what I actually wanted to do or be, I spent 4 months in Morocco and everything came together. I realized there is not a “right” way to do things. You need to know what the right way is for YOU!

Your work consistently blends elements of the “West” and the “Orient”, the traditional and the new, the cultural and the material. Why?

I was always inspired by sci-fi movies. They use a lot of elements to make their world look futuristic and they always mix it up with present-day objects. Everywhere in the world we have trends that come and go, but traditional items are carved in there and they remain the base of the culture. The recognition of these objects always drew my attention and I kind of started obsessing about it. As a result, I always try to erase the original purpose of an item and try to repurpose it. I try to be a time traveler and blend the future and the past because you always get an interesting result.

I also like to connect different parts of the world, namely the “West” and the “Orient” because I’m both. As a kid, I loved wearing djellabas and rocking them with my Jordan sneakers. It felt “cool” at that time because that’s who I was: a mixture of identities. Doesn’t it make sense that your “idea-basket” gets larger when you live in different cultures or you live in multiple places in the world?

If you could eliminate one aspect of Western Culture which would it be and why?

This is a dangerous question but I’ll try to be as honest as possible. I traveled many times and to many places around the world and the thing that bothers me most, is when I see Europeans in foreign countries looking at the locals’ way of living as though it’s not normal. Everybody on this planet has their own “normal” and that’s what’s most interesting about our planet. So, if I can eliminate something it would be that western people should stop acting like their way is the best way.

Welcome to mars2.jpg — I realized there is not a “right” way to do things. You need to know what the right way is for YOU!

If you could eliminate one aspect of Oriental Culture, which would it be and why?

It's sad to say but there is a lot of racism within the Oriental culture. Not towards other continents but more within. I can’t say what the source of this racism is, but it's painful to see that there is no unity within this big region. We would be one of the strongest and richest part of the world.

In your work, you often portray Global South citizens covered in logos of American corporations. How come?

If you look at the fashion industry you see that brands are putting their logo on their clothing, more and bigger than ever before. It’s a thing and we love wearing them. We seem obsessed with the fashion-industry, like it became a new religion. Everybody wants to be connected with brands, everybody wants to be an influencer, blogger… the cooler the brand that you're working with, the cooler you are. I’m not saying it's a good or bad thing, but that is really the case at the moment.

If you see a person wearing a full Gucci patterned outfit pass by, you immediately judge and it steals your attention in a fraction of a second. This is why I love using logos. I first try to grab people’s attention and then get my messages across. I’m not saying it’s the right way to do it but for me it’s a good way to share my thoughts with the world.

In your opinion, is westernization a positive or negative thing?

I thought about it a lot and I must say that I’m not a fan. Who are “we” to say that our way is the best way and how the whole world should function? I’m more interested in getting to know different ways/systems of living instead of only knowing one, because I really don’t believe we were put on this planet to work hard all our life to pay off debts. I would love to visit another planet one day to see what their way is.

“Everybody on this planet has their own “normal” and that’s what’s most interesting about our planet. So, if I can eliminate something it would be that western people should stop acting like their way is the best way.”

— Mous Lamrabat

Cultural appropriation is a term we hear more and more of these days. As an artist from a multicultural background, what’s your take on it, and where do you draw the line?

I do believe in the concept of cultural appropriation but it also depends on why you are doing it. If it's for your own benefit I think it’s a definite no-go. But, if you are interested in different cultures and you visit these places and you create something with the people that are a part of said culture without any commercial intent behind it… then I feel like it’s genuine interest rather than cultural appropriation. The commercial part is a big factor for me here. But that’s personal, everybody draws their own line.

Your subjects’ eyes, and sometimes faces, are often fully covered by what seems to be your twist on traditional garments. Why?

It started out as something that had nothing to do with traditional garments. For me it was more about creating something that is beautiful without having a face. The face is often too much of a distraction for me. It is proven that the first thing you look at in an image is always the eyes and the face. I wanted to break that and I wanted to decide and control the way people look at my images. A lot of people immediately took it as a symbol of a traditional garment which I love because I was always obsessed with women in niqab and how mysterious they are.

In these times of global unrest, between the global pandemic and the popular uprisings happening around the world, do you feel the need to be a part of those conversations as an artist?

Yes. And I want to quote Terrace Martin: “We spreading the world of ART and LOVE through all the universe. We are brothers and sisters through ART and that’s all that matter. We are the most powerful people because we are artists. We run every country, even if you think you have someone running your country. ART RUNS THE COUNTRY. Always know that."

This is exactly how I feel. I believe there is no better connection than that. Art is a big labyrinth of people holding hands and when we do hold hands we can circle the whole planet.

You’ve been a vocal supporter of the Black Lives Matters movement. In your opinion, how relevant is that movement to the rest of the world and why?

This shouldn’t even be a question. The BLM movement is super relevant… as relevant as the air we breathe. It may sound a bit corny, but everyone should be treated equal. No matter who, what, where, how... Even if it felt like a flaw growing up, not to be “normal” (or white in my case), I’m blessed, and after all these years i can say: “I’m very happy and I’m very lucky that I’m a person of colour”.

What does it take for a person to be able to immigrate to Mousganistan. Why? And also, where is it?

Pffff, man. Mousganistan is a utopia, it’s a place in my head and sometimes it's my escape from the world. I have been going there a lot lately. There are so many things going wrong in the world at this moment. Some people can take it and deal with it but I can’t. It literally depresses me. When I escape to this place that I created in my head, it feels like home and I feel untouchable. It’s a space where I can make sense of everything and search for solutions. It’s not possible to change the world on your own but I do what I can by sharing my messages. The most important one is still: “Life shouldn’t be hard”. I feel we need to go back to the purest forms of humanity and see how “simple” it all can be… And that’s how you get into Mousganistan.

What’s next for Mous Lamrabat?

I’m still a bit off because the race-problem really hit hard on my creative thinking. I have put everything on pause because I got really invested into the movement and it kind of drained me. So, for now most of the time I’m just writing things in my lil’ idea-book. There are some cool ideas for the future but most of them are planned to start in 2021. Which is fine, it just gives me more time to plan everything better and to be with my loved ones.

My main focus now is to break the rules of what is “normal” and “how it normally works”. I’m done with that, but it’s harder than it sounds :)

Interviewed by Ralph Arida