Private Story
20 Dirhams or 1 photo?
What is the value of a photograph to the subject of the image?
An aesthetic object or an economic exchange?
This is a collaborative photography project. We invited women in the spice market of Marrakesh to volunteer to have their portraits made in an open studio in the market, where we could print their pictures on site.
Each woman who agreed to participate was given a choice: Either she could receive the print of her portrait, or she could receive a payment – 20 dirhams – in exchange for giving us permission to keep the print and exhibit it at the MMP+. 20 dirhams is the cost of having an identity photo made in a local studio. Each woman was asked to make the choice before her picture was made.
60 women chose to let us use their photograph and received a 20 dirham note. Their portraits are on the wall along with their signature that indicates their consent to be included in the exhibition.
18 women preferred to keep their prints. The 20 dirham notes included in the exhibition indicate that in those 18 cases no money was exchanged.
Everyone who participated in having their portrait made received an invitation to the opening of the exhibition.
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