The Rock Became the Object Itself, 2019
Molybdomancy (divination using molten metal) by Fatima Mehdi, pictures by Abdelhak Acim, dance by Sunru Carter.

​

​The Rock Became the Object Itself is an installation about chowafas and Moroccan fortune telling cards. Chouaffas are clairvoyantes who use Karta, handreadings, and shapes formed out of melted lead, to predict the future and offer psychological support. Because their practice has become largely marginalized and is not accepted by religion, chowafas are both inside and outside of society. By their positions at the margin, they draw the boundaries between the visible and the invisible, the natural and supernatural. The Rock Became the Object Itself tells a personal story based on different readings from chouaffas working in the streets of the medina of Marrakech and on a molybdomancy by Fatima Mehdi. The story revolves around transformation, desires and mirroring behaviours wherein bricks and suits are the construction blocks of a transformation field of liminal figures in search of magic.

​