Once Upon a Time in Arab Countries - curated films by Abir Boukhari

The Film

“Habba” is Arabic for “grain.” This animation video tells the story of a grain that travels through space in search of the ideal place for germinating, growing and bearing fruit. The white circle that it moves in represents the human personal sphere that allows us to live in harmony with the world around us, even though our individual sphere may intervene with that of others. When the grain arrives in the center of the white circle, it stops and waits – and then wind and water make it grow and sprout very quickly. The green color here represents our spiritual life as in relation with the life around us.

Younès Rahmoun’s work was inspired by a phrase from the Quran (QS, 2:261), and it speaks of the eternal circle of life.

The Filmmaker

Younès Rahmoun was born in 1975 in Tetouan, in Morocco, where he currently lives and works. He studied at the National Fine Arts Institute of the city and set up his workshop, in 1998, in a small room of the family house which later inspired his series of installations Ghorfa.

In an obvious simplicity of materials and forms and whatever the formats (video, installation, performance), Younès Rahmoun evokes a personal universe, intrinsically connected to Sufi thought and practice. He makes them accessible, willing to trigger an exchange, a meeting and a dialogue. A certain number of codes and practices can be found in his work – including repetition, incantation, insistence, concentration, the orientation of his installations towards Mecca, the use of sacred numbers, or the use of green light - which invite the visitor to experience immateriality. As opposed to cultural and identity remoteness, the concern of Younès Rahmoun manifests itself as the expression of a presence in the world. Between the use of new technologies and the appropriation of techniques resulting from the most local craft, the artist syntheses a context in order to highlight what is related to a specific space/time. Presented on the international scene through several major exhibitions and biennials, such as the Canaries, Pontevedra, Dakar or Singapore Biennials, his work spreads a universal message of intimate and interpersonal communion.