Renowned Moroccan writer, Goncourt prize winner and Nobel prize nominee Tahar Ben Jelloun (b. 1947) is currently presenting a solo exhibition La couleur des mots (The Colour of Words)—a title that is synonymous with his newest book—at L’Atelier 21 in Casablanca. Better known as a writer and poet, famous for works such as The Sand Child (1985) and The Sacred Night (1987), Ben Jelloun has also been a practising artist for over a decade.

Creativity knows no boundaries as other artist-writers such as Kahlil Gibran (Lebanese, 1883-1931) and Jabra Ibrahim Jabra (Palestinian-Iraqi, 1919-1994) remind us. In Ben Jelloun’s case, there seems to exist an intriguing parallel between his visual arts practice characterised by a delicate, harmonious atmosphere accentuated by vibrant colours and soft light, and the artist’s literary works that often scrutinise humanity’s darker aspects. Together, the two exist harmoniously, presenting a creative pairing of yin and yang, bringing together the opposing sides of the world. 

In the preface of the exhibition catalogue, Ben Jelloun explains how his activity as a writer and painter have become consubstantial to his balance. ‘Each time, I explain how I go from writing about what I call “the pain of the world” to its “light”. I have often written about injustice, loneliness, abandonment. But I needed to explore the other side of this dark universe. That’s where painting, as I like it, came to me as an obviousness, as an old meeting, a friend enlightening my way.’ Reflecting on his visual arts practice, the artist-writer adds: ‘I started to paint to forget the dark part of the world that I was writing.’

The body of works currently exhibited at L’Atelier 21 give off a sweet enchantment and communicate a retinal joy. For Ben Jelloun, the recent works hold a degree of speciality as they were painted in Morocco, ‘under the sun of Marrakech, with its superb light, its pure air’, presenting an environment that is drastically different from the grey Paris where he lives and works. The present exhibition contains ‘the pleasure and the greedy happiness’ Ben Jelloun felt while painting them as exemplified by the inscribed phrases found in the edges of the paintings; a sort of poetic flash, which adds to the pleasure of the eyes. 

Since his first museum exhibition at the Paris-based Institut du monde arabe (IMA), Carte blanche à Tahar Ben Jelloun: J’essaie de peindre la lumière du monde (2017), Ben Jelloun has been attempting to paint the light of the world. Five years later, presenting his new body of works in Casablanca, the artist continues to achieve his ‘universalist’ vision, in the words of Jack Lang, President of the IMA. Indeed, Ben Jelloun’s new works display a continuation of the artist’s affinity for poetry and the dream-like depictions of his native Morocco presented through vibrant colours and bold geometry.

Living between Paris, Tangier and Marrakech, Tahar Ben Jelloun is a renowned writer, poet and painter. His paintings are exhibited in several private and public collections, including the Yannick and Ben Jakober Foundation (Spain), the San Salvatore In Lauro Museum (Italy), the Institut du monde arabe (France) and the Villa Harris Museum in Tangiers (Morocco). 

The exhibition at L’Atelier 21 Art Gallery closes on 30 May 2022. Find more information on the gallery’s website and follow them on Instagram here. 

Featured image: Tahar Ben Jelloun, ‘La mer qui a avalé notre douleur’ (2021). Courtesy of the artist and L’Atelier 21.