“It’s been almost a month now that I’ve been in-residence here at Delfina Foundation. The context is pretty amazing, as it is the first time I am doing this kind of residency and I’m very excited to have a dedicated period of time to research. Being surrounded by the crazy and brilliant minds of my co-residents is also very satisfying, and everything becomes an occasion to share ideas AND recipes for food.”
“I brought with me these two books. They come from a bookshop in Rabat selling old books that no one seems interested in. One of the books is an illustrated traffic regulation publication. I have used it as a reference before, in my series ‘road paintings’; taking away the information to focus on the landscapes in the background. The series is part of my long-term work on Moroccan transport trucks. I’m not sure whether I will do something with these books at Delfina, but I always carry them with me.”
“A few years ago, after relocating to Morocco in 2016, I initiated an artistic research that continues to this day into the visual culture of Moroccan trucks. One outcome of this study is painting. Since arriving at Delfina, I have been trying new colour and shape combinations but also new materials. I’ve been learning how to integrate reflective surfaces into my paintings by using specific surfaces and types of paint. The visual language I’ve been building in relation to Moroccan trucks has become increasingly abstract with time and bringing these techniques and specific surfaces into the paintings is a way for me to reduce this distance.”
“During the last weeks of my residency I am planning to visit few letterpress studios here in London to learn more about the chromatic wood fonts. Designed by William Page in 1874, these are fonts which are sometimes found painted on the side of Moroccan trucks, in the form of short sentences or even just a word, such as ‘best of the best’ or ‘prestige’. I’m currently working on poems made from combining of these phrases. Letterpress printing together with chromatic wood fonts would be an interesting way to presenting these poems and will result in some type of concrete poetry work.”
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Nassim Azarzar (France/Morocco) is an artist-in-residence during Delfina Foundation’s winter 2023 season. His residency is supported by Delfina Foundation’s Network of Middle East, North Africa and South Asia Patrons.
Photos artist’s own.