لمحة - الحلقة الثامنة: مجموعتا شوقي مرازي وميشال بيرالدي

لمحة هي بودكاست من إعداد المؤ سسة العربية للصورة بهدف تقديم المجموعات الموجودة
arabimagefoundation.org في عهدتها عبر سلسلة من المقتطفات القصيرة. للمزيد، زوروا

تم الإنتاج بالتعاون مع تيونفورك ستوديوز في بيروت

"Lamha" is a podcast put together by the Arab Image Foundation with the aim of presenting the collections in its custody through a series of short snippets. For more, visit arabimagefoundation.org.

Cover image:
0222pe00008, 0222pe – Michel Peraldi collection, courtesy of the Arab Image Foundation, Beirut.

Produced in collaboration with Tunefork Studios, Beirut.

This podcast was first featured in Issue 2021.10 of AIF's monthly stories:
https://stories.arabimagefoundation.org/issue-202110
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𝙀𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣
The eighth episode of Lamha foregrounds the Michel Peraldi collection from Morocco, and the Chaouki Merazi collection from Algeria. These two collections are presented side by side, not because of the geographical proximity of their provenance, but rather, to compare the different ways through which we attempt to unpack these photographic collections, especially when we have very little information about them.

 The Michel Peraldi collection comprises 14 glass plates depicting two Moroccan villages in the 1930s, among which are views of the streets, souks, houses, and landscapes. These images share an unusual element: the presence of men dressed in tuxedos, while others around them are wearing the jalabiya.  The lack of information around these photographs opens up myriad questions: who took these pictures, and to what end? Were they captured for documentary or aesthetic purposes? Did the photographer intend to frame and represent these villages in a certain way? These questions make way for a multitude of readings around these collections, depending on the researchers’ subjectivities on the one hand, and the photographs’ objective elements on the other.

Chaouki Merazi’s collection, which comes from Algeria, brings together 150 portraits from Studio Merazi. The studio’s founder, Ismail Merazi, learned the fundamentals of photography from his father, Belkassem, who was in charge of transporting the equipment of war correspondents and photojournalists during the First World War. Alongside photographs of children in their first communion attire, the collection includes a number of headshots featuring the same subjects in two different poses. One of them is a passport photo, in which they are looking straight at the camera;  and in the other, their posture is slightly tilted, and they are flashing a smile. This collection found a new home at the Arab Image Foundation following Lara Baladi’s visit to Studio Merazi in 2009. There, she met Chaouki Merazi, Ismail Merazi’s son, who donated these photographs to the AIF. The information we have about this collection sheds light on the studio’s history, but there’s always room for new and different readings of the photographs that go beyond the knowledge we already have.

The Michel Peraldi and Chaoui Merazi collections can be viewed on our platform here:

http://arabimagefoundation.org/Collection-&37&internalRef-0222pe-Michel-Peraldi-Collection

http://arabimagefoundation.org/Collection-&77&internalRef-0290me-Chaouki-Merazi-Collection

Lamha - Episode 08: Chaouki Merazi and Michel Peraldi collections

The Arab Image Foundation is an independent association forging new pathways for photography and image practices. Uniquely positioned at the intersection of artistic creation, research, and archiving, we explore, question and confront the complex social and political realities of our times.

Our collection of over 500,000 photographic objects and documents from and related to the Middle East, North Africa and the Arab diaspora has been gradually assembled over the last 20 years by artists and researchers and through donations. With a critical and innovative approach, we collect, rethink, preserve, activate and understand these photographs through their multiple strata, and enrich the collection in the process.

The AIF looks to engage a broad regional and international community in experimental thought and practice that extends the photographic concept. We offer an inspiring and welcoming environment open to everyone: through our digital platform, our space in Beirut, and our projects and partnerships. Artists, researchers, students, cultural practitioners and the general public are warmly encouraged to learn, discover, create, and exchange ideas.

For more information, visit http://arabimagefoundation.org

Cover image: Advertising campaign for Luxor Rugs, photographed by Tufic Yazbek in 1967 in Mexico City, Mexico. Chromogenic process transparency on cellulose acetate film, large format. 0243ya00276, 0243ya - Tufic Yazbek Collection - Arab Image Foundation, Beirut.