The history of Morocco’s varied textiles designs is tied to the experiences and cultures of the women who inhabit domestic spaces. These women came from many different lifestyles, mixing arts like henna painting and calligraphy into the fabrics that were eternally present in their daily lives. This is the rich past on which Essaydi builds her work, carefully arranging her photographs to emulate both urban and rural domestic spaces, to examine the relationship between women, their surroundings, and their art forms.
Cited Sources and Suggestions for Further Reading
Booth, Marilyn, ed., Harem Histories: Envisioning Places and Living Spaces (Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 2010).
Hassan, Salah ,“Henna Mania: Body Painting as a Fashion Statement, from Tradition to
Madonna,” The Art of African Fashion, ed. Els van der Plas and Marlous Willemsen
(Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1998), 103-129.
Mernissi, Fatima, Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood (Perseus Books, 1994).
“Muslim Journeys | Item #270: ‘Textiles’ from Oxford Islamic Studies Online”, February 23, 2014 http://bridgingcultures.neh.gov/muslimjourneys/items/show/270.
Paydar, Niloo Imami, and Ivo Grammet, The Fabric of Moroccan Life (Indianapolis Museum of Art: 2002), Pages 40-270.
Watt, Melinda, “Textile Production in Europe: Embroidery, 1600–1800 “. In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/txt_e/hd_txt_e.htm (October 2003)
Wearden, Jennifer Mary, and Patricia L. Baker, Iranian Textiles (London: V&A Publishers, 2010).