“WAHA واحة” (oasis in Arabic) is a four-year photographic research project aimed at understanding the complex relationship between people, their environment, and the history of the territories they inhabit. Collectively, oases carry a mystical, almost magical aura. Growing up in the south of Morocco, they’ve always been an intriguing, transitional territory I wished to explore and demystify. Beyond myths and orientalist representations, oases define systems, cultures, indigenous knowledge and innovation. They maintain a delicate balance between water, flora, soil, and climate in hostile environments. Oases reflect what happens on a larger scale, reminding us that humans can build and nurture whole ecosystems but destroy them in the blink of an eye. Exploring and experimenting with new processes and visual narratives, the series extends the metaphor of erosion within the oasis. It calls upon external and organic elements intimately linked to the spaces photographed, both documentary and conceptual, to navigate the realities of present-day and yet-to-come deterioration.
WAHA واحة
© Seif Kousmate
xA landscap in the abondoned "Ksar Takhyamt". Aoufous, Ziz valley, 2023.
© Seif Kousmate
Mixed technique using fire on a paper print. Portrait of Mustapha, the man responsible for the distribution of water in the oasis of Tighmert, 2021.
© Seif Kousmate
Mixed Technique - A landscape of the oasis of Tighmert paired with a poem by Ibrahim Rajeaa - an inhabitant of the same oasis; His poem tells the suffering of the oasis and its deterioration over the past years by describing the suffering of the roots of Palm trees. Tighmert, 2020. Palm tree roots in the ground weep for their fruits at the surface Palm tree roots in the ground weep as their water springs are sold Palm tree roots in the ground lament because of those who used to rest in their shade Palm tree roots in the ground weep for being sold for cheap Palm tree roots in the ground weep for those it grew its piths for Palm tree roots in the ground weep for those who had forgotten its favor Palm tree roots in the ground weep as its water basin is sold We will never forget who caused this tragedy - Translation from Arabic of a poem by Ibrahim Rajeaa, from the Oasis of Tighmert.
© Seif Kousmate
Mixed media using acid on a paper print. Details of a water bottle. Near Safsaf oasis, Ziz valley, 2023.
© Seif Kousmate
A landscap with a swimingpool in the dead oasis of rissani. Rissani, Ziz valley, 2023.
© Seif Kousmate
Mixed technique using fire and acid on a paper print. Detail of M'hammed's foot climbing a palm tree. M'hammed's job is to go up and collect dates from the top of the palm trees. He is one of the last people to do so in his oasis as it is a dangerous job because he has to climb up to fifteen meters or more without any safety; The new generation is totally disinterested in taking over these tasks. Tinghir, 2022. Detail of M'hammed's foot in perfect harmony with the palm tree. M'hammed's job is to go up and collect dates from the top of the palm trees. He is one of the last people to do so in his oasis as it is a dangerous job because he has to climb up to fifteen meters or more without any safety; The new generation is totally disinterested in taking over these tasks. February 2022 Tinghir, Morocco.
© Seif Kousmate
A tired palm tree. Landscape of the Akka oasis. February 2021 Akka, Morocco.
© Seif Kousmate
Portrait of Rquia. Rquia has worked hard to save money so that she can build a small house in a village near the town of Inzagane, in southern Morocco, far from the hard life of the oasis. She dreams of the day she will leave Aguinane, 2021.
© Seif Kousmate
Mixed technique- Hassan (left) and Abderrahman are brothers from the Tighmert oasis. After the passing of their father in 2013, Hassan left school and took on the responsibility of the family. Abderrahman, the younger brother, dreams of leaving the oasis to join their two older brothers abroad. He sees his future elsewhere and believes that the land of the oasis does not give enough return for the effort one puts into it.
© Seif Kousmate
Mixed media using acid on a paper print. Detail of the oasis: Note in arabic in the wall translated into" Justice is the basis for evolution". Hassi Lbiad, Ziz valley, 2023.