LATIFA ECHAKHCH ::::

A piece of black scotch tape is glued to the screen of a video monitor that shows nothing other than electronic snow. These two visual elements—the snow and the tape—evoke the well-known iconography of Mecca in South Arabia that is disseminated throughout the world in photographs and reproductive forms. The agitated and chaotic movement of the snow is a reminder of the interior of the great mosque al-Masjid al-Haram where innumerable pilgrims turn around the central edifice, the Ka’ba while they pray.

This large black cube is one of the major symbols that binds the Islamic community throughout the world. In the gap between the easily recognizable iconography of Islam and the incongruous and ephemeral elements that are here used to symbolize it, Snow in Arabia questions the way in which a community is identified and defined in the age of mass media.

Originally from Morocco, Latifa Echakhch lives in Paris.