Arhal

The nomadic life of Brahim and Touda’s family

Abdellah joined Thomas and his team for the Arhal project in 2017, the journey started with traveling with Touda and Brahim family from the south of Jbel Saghro, crossing the high Atlas Mountains and finishing by Tamda’s prairie.

In 2018 the team went back to visit the family in their summer camp, and the winter camp after that. During the time spent with the family, the team and Abdellah were able to get closer to the family and have more understanding of their way of life.

Abdellah Azizi believes that the key to a sincere photo is spending as much time as you can with the subject. Being respectful helps in the process. During Arhal project, Abdellah was welcomed and trusted by the family, which allowed him to capture intimate moments that it would not have been possible otherwise. For this project, the lighting and the colors were important but not as much as documenting the life of the family. Waiting for the right moment was more important than the right light. However, Abdellah tried to capture the right moment in the right light as much as possible. Arahl was Abdellah’s first long term project, where he learned about archeology, history, nomadic culture, and also more about his own culture.

Today the work is exhibited at the Historisches und Völkerkundemuseum St.Gallen

Ait Atta Nomad trip
Karima
Herd of the family - Ait Atta Nomad trip
Caravan - Ait Atta Nomads
Karima helping making bread - Ait Atta Nomads
Brushing hair with Henna - Ait Atta Nomads
Karima and Noura - Ait Atta Nomads
Touda pouring water, Ait Atta Nomad trip
Waiting for couscous - Ait Atta Nomads
Cheeps running out - Ait Atta Nomads
Loading camels to truck _ Ait Atta Nomads
Feeding camels - Ait Atta Nomads
Dinner time - Ait Atta Nomads - Arhal project
Brahim working on his field Arhal project
Mohamed at School - Arhal project
© Abdellah Azizi 2013 - 2024