Mectoub (2) (Mektoub, literally: it is written)


  • Photographer
    scarlett coten
  • Prize
    Honorable Mention
  • Date of Photograph
    2012/2013
  • Technical Info
    Digital 24x36

"Mectoub" is an ongoing project about the Arab man and his contemporary identity. In my position as French woman, I decided to demystify agreed clichés to an over manly "Maghreb". In Morocco and then in Egypt, I approached men on street and followed them around to reveal the unexpected through the question of personal identities. Face to face with a foreign woman and her camera, away from social pressure, men expose and reveale themselves In countries where freedom is hidden, being oneself is an act of rebellion.

Story

"Mectoub" is an ongoing project on the Arab man and his contemporary identity.
In my position as French woman, I decided to take an interest in Arab men to disrupt outdated stereotypes as much as demystify agreed clichés to an over manly "Maghreb", which westerners particularly, have of them. My purpose is to reveal the unexpected or the unknown through the question of personal identities, and exploring the complex political and social landscapes of these regions.
In Morocco, in the public sphere, men only have the freedom to look and to observe openly. Reversing the roles was my challenge. In 2012, in different cities, I approached men on the street, in cafés, by chance, by instinct. I asked to take their picture, in their homes, wherever they wanted. I spent time with those who accepted and followed them around to capture truly unique moments. The man, omnipresent in the public sphere, displays an image of hyper masculinity imposed by culture, but face to face with a foreign woman and her camera, away from social pressure, men expose and reveal themselves.
In a country where freedom is hidden, being oneself is an act of rebellion. In Morocco a law can throw you on jail for being gay, or eating during the Ramadan, meaning people suffer religious and political oppression.
In early 2013, I continued the series in Egypt, in Cairo and Alexandria, portraying Egyptian men who made the revolution and continue acting for the changes they wish for their country. All of them have lost friends and many have been tortured under arrest.
My aim is to continue the series "Mectoub" in different countries: Gaza, Tunisia, Algeria, Libanon, to propose a different vision of the Arab man, to fight against the racism this culture suffers, more and more around the world, for a minority falled in extremism movements. I want to show a new generation involved in its fight for freedom and recognition of their real identity.
I focus on men, these "forgotten ones", finally, because, many often, women photographers are naturally interested in their peers, in countries where their rights, the equality of their condition are undermined, and where the issue of the veil is timely. Many are the works attached to them and quite logically, from artists from these countries and directly concerned. Being neither native nor belonging to the diaspora of these regions and therefore, not subject to social or religious dictates from their own culture, the possibility that men accept, engage with great freedom and state their uninhibited identity, is offered to me.
Turning the tables wich we are usually witness in the Art History, of men portaying women, is the other face of "Mectoub" .

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