SYDNEY.- From 6 October to 11 November, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre hosts Landless Bodies, a vibrant showcase of female identity that transcends geographical boundaries. Featuring six Moroccan and Arab-Australian artists, the exhibition comes after a year of lively intercultural exchange between Casula Powerhouse and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Canberra.

The exhibition was born from a visit to Casula Powerhouse by Mehdi Qotbi, President of The National Foundation of Museums of Morocco and His Excellency Karim Medrik, Ambassador for the Kingdom of Morocco Canberra. The National Foundation of Museums of Morocco is a non-profit institution strengthening and preserving Moroccan cultural and artistic heritage. Established by the King of Morocco, the Foundation works with the world’s most prestigious museums including the Louvre, the Met and the Guggenheim.

International artists making their Australian debut include: internationally renowned Safaa Erruas, whose stark white works pierced with needles and other metallic objects evoke silent wounds; Batoul S’himi, renowned for her exquisitely-carved gas canisters representing the explosive pressures on modern women; and Fatima Mazmouz, whose work questions identity, the body, language, and dialogue and is exhibiting video, photography and installations.

Acclaimed local artists are also being featured, including Sydney-based founder of the viral #iammyownguardian feminist campaign Ms Saffaa, with a floor tile installation crafted and her signature prints in LGBTQI colours; and award-winning Sydney-based photomedia artist Cherine Fahd whose work has shown from the Art Gallery of New South Wales to the Museum of Photographic Arts San Diego. Canberra artist Fatima Killeen, whose found object installations dissect war and peace has created a new series responding to the exhibition themes.

“We can’t wait to present this tremendous exhibition, uniting some of the finest artists from Morocco to Sydney!” said CPAC Director Craig Donarski. “Partnering with world-class organisations like the Kingdom of Morocco Embassy, Canberra allows us to further cement Casula Powerhouse’s spot on the map as a hub for thought-provoking arts and culture - not just locally but on a global scale.”

Landless Bodies was conceived during a cultural diplomacy trip to the Kingdom of Morocco by CPAC Curator Lizzy Marshall in December 2017, on invitation from The Ambassador of His Majesty the King, H.E Karim Medrek.

“It was during my visits to incredible Moroccan artist-run spaces, independent galleries and government institutions that I experienced as a curator the visible concerns of artists within a global context and realised they were transnational,” said CPAC Curator Lizzy Marshall. “Above all, the exhibition underlines how our inherent identities stay with us regardless of geographical context.”

“From the contemporary collections of Bank Al-Maghrib Museum, to the newly-opened Yves Saint Laurent Museum and the Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden, I came to realise how globalisation has given rise to artists sharing a unique collective consciousness.”