Leila Bakouche By Leïla Bakouche
“Raw” presents the marriage between two unique textures: refined and raw. These photographs are unified through their composition and showcase an aesthetic that combines artistry and realism. The backgrounds illustrate the diverse textures of Algeria while the foregrounds focus on young Algerians with differing beliefs and cultures. The project draws on documentary research, contrasting the hopes of these Algerians with their moods in front of the walls of the cities and their architecture.
Frustrations, taboos, and barriers are the daily life of the Algerian youth. The walls of the city
are the only escape yet also an eternal dead end.
Showing their backs or facing the wall remains
the dilemma of Algerian society.
I approached this theme from engaged, social, and semiotic angles.
While roaming around Algerian cities, I met and was inspired by the different hopes of these people and the different textures of the walls, all in distress. Forgotten, abused, torn, or even broken.
I brought these individuals and these walls together to create a documentary photographic series rooted in social art.
This series confronts the failure of the overall system of modern Algerian society and the country’s uncertain future.
Human and urban textures are inexorably linked.
Individuals try to realize their dreams in the middle of a
a city surrounded by barricaded walls that block them.
As a young photographer here, I too am caught in this trap.
I feel myself going straight to the wall.
Leïla Bakouche is a French-Algerian photographic artist attracted by digital media arts and immersed in graphic and photographic approaches that involve the discovery and curiosity of spaces and people. She uses the practice of storytelling to allow feelings and a collaboration between the artist and people.
Website: leilabakouche.com
Instagram: @leila.bakouche
Twitter: @leilabakouche
Why we chose these pieces: These photos are absolutely stunning, and Leïla is a wonderful artist. The concept of this series resonated with us a lot, and the contrasting textures of stone and fabric are as beautiful as they are thought-provoking. The small details (e.g., spray paint, silver hoop earrings, a single, small orange brick) add a nice richness and depth to the compositions as well.
