Malika Sqalli, Morocco
Weeds or flowers
(June-August 2019)

Project in collaboration with SMArt (Sustainable Mountain Art)

Late Spring, I arrived in Val Verzasca driving through a windy road, deep into the narrow steep sided valley with snow capped mountains giving me a taster of the identity of the place. The road follows the river, carving its way through spectacular rocks, stone houses, ca- maieu of greens and narrow fields covered with flow- ers. The sound of the river was omnipresent, there is no escape from it anytime, anywhere.

The heavy flow of tourists also followed the river upstream, and congregated around specific spots of crystal clear pools. As summer advanced the numbers increased enormously.
In their colorful attire, they looked like flowers.
Are we weeds or flowers? Do we invade, consume and overgrow a place or do we engage with it mindfully and ecologically? Are we using the world as a stage for selfies, or are we trying to connect to a culture?
I learnt the locals made a honey from the dandelion, this edible weed/flower with medicinal properties.

I felt oppressed by this flow, the narrowness, the lack of horizon. I was curious of the world above watch- ing upon the valley. I needed to take height, hear the stories of the lakes and waterfalls above. Before that I had to earn and tame those steep paths. I found a parallel universe. There I could breathe and tune to a different frequency. In old times, it was atop the moun- tains that new stories were weaved between people from opposite valley, as they spent their summer above with the animals grazing on alpine pastures after a harsh and dark winter in the valley.

The series is an ode “to get on top of things” and elevate ourselves to our best version in our dealings on and with our planet, as in the words of the poet Abou Firasse Al Hamdani وأعلى ذوي العلا “Be higher with the highest”.

In tarda primavera, arrivai in Val Verzasca guidando attraverso strade ventose, in profondità dentro la valle stretta, scoscesa e con le cime innevate, che mi diede- ro un assaggio dell’identità del luogo. La strada segue il fiume, scolpendo la sua via in rocce spettacolari, case di pietra, gradazioni di verde e stretti campi ricoperti di fiori. Il suono del fiume è onnipresente, senza scappato- ia di tempo e luogo.

Il forte afflusso di turisti seguiva pure il corso del fiume a monte, e si concentrava intorno a punti specifici o pozzi di acqua cristallina. Con l’avanzare dell’estate, il numero di essi progrediva enormemente.
Nel loro abbigliamento colorato, sembravano fiori. Siamo fiori o erbe infestanti? Invadiamo, consumiamo e sovrappopoliamo un luogo o ci ingaggiamo per esso in modo consapevole ed ecologico? Stiamo usando il mondo come un palcoscenico per selfies, o stiamo cercando di connetterci a una cultura?
Ho scoperte che alcune persone del luogo producono un miele estratto dal tarassaco, un erbaccia / fiore con proprietà terapeutiche.

Mi sono sentita oppressa da questo flusso, dalla ristrettezza, dalla mancanza di orizzonte. Mi sono incu- riosita al mondo sopra di me che guarda la valle. Avevo bisogno di prendere quota, ascoltare le storie dei la- ghetti e delle cascate a monte di essi. Prima di questo dovevo guadagnarmi e domare quei ripidi sentieri. Trovai un universo parallelo. Lì potei respirare e sinto- nizzarmi su altre frequenze. Fu lassù sulle montagne che ai tempi, nuove storie furono trasmesse tra persone di valli opposte, mentre trascorrevano l’estate su con gli animali ai pascoli alpini, dopo un inverno rigido e buio nella valle.

La serie è un’ode “ad andare in cima alle cose” ed elevarci verso la nostra visione migliore nei nostri rap- porti sul e con il nostro pianeta, come nelle parole del poeta Abou Firasse Al Hamdani وأعلى ذوي العلا “Sii più grande con i più grandi”.

Coming from a mixed culture ( Moroccan and Austrian ) background and having lived in various countries from an early age, translates for Malika into a position neither here nor there, nor on the fringes, feeling foreign and belonging in many places and none at the same time, a notion she learned to exploit as a photographer. The idea of home, culture, identity is for her a fertile ground for investigation. As the artist is driven by a propensity for optimism and hopefulness, her artworks speak volumes about this state of mind. She draws from holis- tic personal view of the world, where she detects links between, similarities, common wisdom and shared mythologies rather than differences and boundaries.

Malika is also a personal trainer, holistic lifestyle coach, Kettlebell athlete and skydiver camerawoman. She also did a Ted Talk in 2013 in Casablanca