Soufiane Ababri – Their mouths were full of bumblebees but it was me who was pollinated

Soufiane Ababri explores questions of desire, queerness and diaspora in a very unique and sincere gaze. Moroccan artist transforms The Curve into his canvas where he tells stories with citations from sociology, philosophy, and the canon of western gay subculture, often inspired by real and fictitious encounters with other men. 

Ababri as an artist takes the historical activist role to his hands and demonstrates statements within the soft narrative of his kaleidoscopic lens. Drawing inspiration from a thirteenth-century illustration by Yahya ibn Mahmud al-Wasiti, the artist fictionizes his vision through his authentic roots.

In those roots he finds the Arabic letter Zayin (ز). This is the first letter of the word “Zamel”, a derogatory term for gay men deriving from “Zamil”, meaning close or intimate friend. His perspective draws on both Western and non-Western experiences while empathizing with, expressing, and eroticizing the gaze of minority groups. In these expressions, Ababri stands out with his space design. 

As an artist who gives his pieces space to find their own understandings of life, The Curve plays a big role in the exhibition. Ababri talks about it as “An artist is always in tension with the space offered to them, and I hope to use the structure of The Curve to reflect on social determinism – how my own experiences of harassment and the insult “zamel” have shaped my response to this space.“

Challenging traditional representations of intimacy, sexuality and forging them to an alternative canon is a motive often demonstrated by Ababri. Through illustrations, through dance, through set design he realizes this motive through his lens. Telling stories of probing gender roles, social dynamics, eroticism and this time marginalization.

Ababri’s work was present in Paris, Antwerp, Istanbul, London, Berlin and his hometown of Rabat. Sharing his unique perspective within a wide web of Europe. And now in The Curve, London until the end June.