Introducing Carolle Bénitah
French/Moroccan photographer Carolle Bénitah spent ten years working as a fashion designer before deciding to study photography in 2001. She is graduated from École Nationale Supérieure de Photographie, Arles and lives and works in Marseilles, France.
Carolle has used beads, coloured threads and scissors to alter her family photographs and albums to explore the memories of her childhood, and as a way to help her understand her current identity. Her book Photo Souvenirs was published in 2016 by Kehrer Velag and named one of 2016’s best books by international curator/essayist Yumi Goto.
Carolle’s recent exhibitions include: Her first Meteorite, Rose Gallery, Santa Monica, USA; Le Maroc raconté autrement, Galerie 127; official selection of Month of Photography Paris; Photos Souvenirs, Sous les Étoiles Gallery New York; 10 Contemporary Moroccans Photographers in Museum of Marrakech for Photography; Tisser des liens and Pavillon de Vendôme in Aix en Provence, among many others.
Festivals and fairs where her work has been included: Festival de la Luz, Buenos Aires (Argentina) ; Fotofestiwal Lodz (Poland) ; Festival Pingyao (China) ; Photomed, Sanary (France) Paris Photo-Paris; Paris Photo Los Angeles; Aipad, New York; Art on paper, New York City; Art Context, Miami, USA; Art Paris Grand Palais Paris and Fotofever, Bruxelles.
Her work can be found in the collections of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Museum of Marrakech for Photography and Museum of Fine Art Houston, USA and several private collections.
(Carolle’s visit is supported by the New Zealand France Friendship Fund)