Sarah Smahane
In Between
In In Between, Sarah Smahane brings together family archives and self-portraiture to reflect on belonging across cultures, geographies and inherited identities. Defining herself as Bent El Ghorba, daughter of exile, she layers photographs of her parents and grandparents with her own image, using Arabic, Tifinagh and Latin scripts as both veil and trace. More symbolic than readable, these inscriptions evoke protection, memory and transmission, turning the work into a meditation on plurality and on the enduring ties between the two shores of the Mediterranean.
All images © Sarah Smahane
Bio
Born in France in 1995 to Moroccan immigrant parents, Sarah Smahane grew up between multiple cultural worlds that continue to shape her artistic practice. After studying art and design in Paris and working with high-end design studios on projects across the MENA region, she returned more consciously to her French, Moroccan, Amazigh, Arab and Muslim inheritances. Her work is rooted in questions of identity, memory and belonging, informed by both personal history and cross-cultural exchange.
Website: sarahsmahane.com
Instagram: @sarahsmahane