“Harem #14 (C), 2009” from the series “Harem”, 40”x30” C-41 Print Mounted on Aluminum by Lalla Essaydi (courtesy of the artist and Miller Yezerski Gallery, Boston)
If you are enticed by the odd juxtaposition of harems and bullets, you should see the captivating, exotic photographs of Morrocan-born Lalla Essaydi. Her work appears in the current show, “She Who Tells A Story” at the MFA, Boston (see my review: https://whatwillyouremember.com/2013/08/unveiled/) and now in a small selection of her prints from 2009-2012 at the Miller Yezerski Gallery in Boston’s South End. Six large-scale C-41 prints mounted on aluminum span five major bodies of Essaydi’s work.
“Dancer #10(C), 2009” from the series “Les Femmes du Maroc” 40”x30” C-41 Print Mounted on Aluminum by Lalla Essaydi (courtesy of the artist and Miller Yezerski Gallery, Boston)
Essaydi’s first series, “Les Femmes du Maroc” features photographs of women adorned in elaborate henna script, “highlighting the importance of writing in the creation of self and femininity, while exploring the passive eroticism of Orientalist painting.”
“Harem Revisited #33, 2012” from the series “Harem Revisited”, 30”x40” C-41 Print Mounted on Aluminum by Lalla Essaydi (courtesy of the artist and Miller Yezerski Gallery, Boston)
Her next two series, “Harem” and “Harem Revisited” add in the relationships of women, privacy and the “fantastic architecture of the harem.” Paralleling the women’s interrelationships, their surroundings contain complex patterns of tiled interiors adorned with layers of rich fabrics. I got the distinct feeling that the women and their environment both serve a decorative function. A sense of voyeurism in the “air of display in intimate places” is also clearly present.
“Bullets #3, 2009” from the series “Bullets”, 40”x30” C-41 Print Mounted on Aluminum by Lalla Essaydi (courtesy of the artist and Miller Yezerski Gallery, Boston)
Essaydi’s most current series, “Bullets” and “Bullets Revisited” augment her previous work by adding hundreds of gold and silver bullet casings into her photographs, creating “mesmerizing patterns that allude to the looming existence of violence outside the frame.” The women pictured even wear bullets themselves, sparkling as they represent the “coexistence of beauty and danger, privacy and self-expression.” These images are as exquisite as they are intricate. I think Essaydi’s current work is her strongest and I found it enhanced my understanding of her vision to see the evolution of her work in this small collection of large and potent images. The show runs through October 22, 2013.
“Bullets Revisited #8, 2012” from the series “Bullets Revisited”, 30”x40” C-41 Print Mounted on Aluminum by Lalla Essaydi (courtesy of the artist and Miller Yezerski Gallery, Boston)
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