Figures en Partage Shared figures divided beings
“Figures en Partage” Shared figures / divided beings two 30x30 oil on chalkboard by Abdelghani Didouh
Figures en partage explores bodies that are not singular but inhabited—forms where identities overlap, merge, and resist separation. The figures appear divided yet inseparable, suggesting a state of coexistence rather than opposition: instinct and thought, self and other, interior and exterior held within the same contour. Through hybrid, almost unstable anatomies, the work reflects on how identity is constructed as something shared, layered, and in constant negotiation. What emerges is not conflict, but a fragile equilibrium—beings that are both one and multiple at once
About the artist: Born in 1966 in the coastal city of Essaouira, Abdelghani Didouh, known as Ben Ali, is a Moroccan self-taught painter. The former fisherman began his career in the mid 2000s in a studio he build out of recycled materials. Ben Ali developed his art instinctively, without academic training although his art direction honored that of his father's. Known to paint on canvas, wood, doors, and many objects found in industrial areas, often using rich, vivid palettes and close ups, Ben Ali's works reflect his own trauma including the loss of his relatives and fellow fishermen in a martime accident. This was a turning point that made him turn to painting as a means of expression, healing, and survival. His style is raw and expressive, often symbolizing human figures, animals, and hybrid creatures in a timeless space of soft melancholy between dream and memory reflecting his deeply sensitive soul. His work reflects themes of loss, spirituality, memory, and the invisible forces of life. Often associated with outsider or singular art, Ben Ali’s paintings carry a strong emotional charge and a deeply personal symbolism rooted in his past as a fisherman.
Over the years, his work has gained recognition in many solo and group exhibitions around Morocco and abroad making him one of the most distinctive contemporary artists from Essaouira. Notable exhibitions & collections
- Pamela Irving Gallery Melbourne Australia
- Outsiders/Insiders? exhibition at the Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden (MACAAL)Marrakesh, Morocco from the Foundation Alliances and Fundacion Yannick y Ben Jakober Collections