© Anjali Sharma

Through my work, I was playing a game of "ping-pong" with the craftsmen: I started a drawing - ink interventions on the fabric - then the artisans embroidered it, and I transformed the drawing again, and so on throughout the creative process. The starting point is a bestiary that is half human half animal, freely inspired by fairy tales, but also by the history of Lucknow city, as well as its embroidery techniques.

Yassine Balbzioui, a Moroccan multidisciplinary visual artist born in 1972, is known for his neo-expressionist works that explore themes of human animality, derision, and the grotesque, often using masks as a central motif. A graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts in Casablanca and Bordeaux, he draws inspiration from everyday life, cinema, theater, and folklore. His work has been exhibited globally, including at the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid and the 13th Dakar Biennial. During his residency at Villa Swagatam, Balbzioui created 11 artworks combining drawing, painting, and embroidery, inspired by fairy tales from Lucknow, in collaboration with 21 artisans from the Kalhath Institute. These works were exhibited after his residency at Es Saadi Palace in Marrakech as part of the 1-54 Contemporary Art Fair. On July 12, 2024, his embroidered tapestries ‘Twin Bubbles’ made their European debut at the Subversive Threads festival, in collaboration with Neuer Kunstverein Mittelrhein, at Artist Residency Schloss Balmoral.