Photos: Seif Kousmate
Text: Katerina Markelova, UNESCO
A rising star in Moroccan photography, Seif Kousmate documents life as it is today in the oases of southern Morocco. His project Waha (oasis in Arabic) takes us far beyond the trite clichés and fantasized representations of these oases.
To reveal the degradation of these fragile ecosystems, the former engineer does not merely show it. He uses the creative possibilities of photography to give concrete form to the evils that plague these islands of life. Some of his photos are burned, corroded with acid, taking a striking shortcut between the medium of the image and its subject: the oases, victims of intensive agriculture and climate change, prey to drought and silting.
In the space of a generation, the oasis areas have indeed changed their physiognomy: the palm groves have been stripped of vegetation, the soil has cracked from lack of water, endangering the extraordinary biodiversity of these areas, which still shelter more than two million inhabitants and most of the animal species of Morocco*. Kousmate's work shows the beauty of this fragile world that can still be saved. “As long as there continues to be life in these places”, he assures us, "there is the hope we can preserve them”.
*Since 2000, the oases of southern Morocco have been part of the UNESCO world network of biosphere reserves.
