“I used to hate being photographed in family photos”, says 27-year-old Moroccan photographer Muhcine Ennou, “so in order to escape from them, I decided to be the one to take the pictures”. But Ennou didn’t know he had a talent until his uncle developed the pictures he had taken at a family reunion in Tetouan and realised they were actually good. “This day turned out to be a pivotal point in my life”, he reveals.
Since then, Ennou has used photography as his medium of choice, capturing inner-city stories and sidelined communities, creating a narrative of his own. Through his quotidian snapshots—and with an authenticity that is rarely seen—he creates an enthralling portrait of everyday life in Morocco. The result is Melting Pot, an intimate look at the surreptitious lives of locals, and the many facets that make up Moroccan society.
Spontaneity is at the heart of Ennou’s practice and more specifically this series: “One day I was looking at the photos and I saw the depiction of an identity and culture clash. So I made a selection from lots of images to clarify these patterns and it translated into a documentary project”, he says.
Melting Pot offers a powerfully intimate look inside a country that’s in constant transition. “My photos are mind-trips between the past, the present and the growing pain being experienced throughout today’s Morocco and of all the uncertainties towards modernity”, he says discussing the essence of his images. Whether it’s a woman or a man, a young or an old, Ennou translates the struggles defining the changing face of Morocco.
