Younes Zarhoni

Younes Zarhoni is a sound artist and visual artist. In recent years, he has translated his personal sonic universe into polyphonic vocal installations, electronic compositions, dance music and field recordings. His visual language is fed and shaped by a fascination with medieval mysticism, botany, nightclub culture and political historiography. His work is interwoven with elements of contemporary folklore and Maghrebian diasporic history. Based on these associations, he dissects narratives and myths to reconstruct them visually, sonically, poetically and intuitively.

During his residency at The Mothership in Tangier, he will lay the first foundations for his new work "The Summer of 1999", a sound and video installation that interweaves storytelling and botany with remarkable (non)fictional events related to the recent history of the Maghreb diaspora on the eve of the turn of the millennium. At The Mothership, he will work with VHS video clips of a family wedding that took place a quarter-century ago. Exactly on that day, Morocco's former head of state passed away. The video will form the basis for the creation of a graphic score and electronic composition that absorbs the botanical and natural environment of The Mothership, by incorporating colour theory and natural colours in the score distilled from a selection of local flowers and plants. Using a combination of ancestral, folkloric and digital languages, the artist attempts to question the construction of history, memory and geopolitical relations.

Younes Zarhoni was born in Antwerp of Moroccan descent and lives in Brussels. He presented his work in several European festivals and institutions. In 2023-2024, he will be artist in residence at The Mothership, STUK Leuven and Villa Empain, Boghossian Foundation. In autumn 2024, his 12-inch vinyl record will be released by the Belgian label KRAAK.