MOROCCO
YORIYAS
PRESENTATION
Yassine Alaoui Ismaili, also known as Yoriyas, is a photographer and performer from Casablanca. His work has been featured in the New York Times, National Geographic, Vogue and The Guardian. He has received several grants and awards, including the 7th Prize for Contemporary African Photography and the Friends of the Arab World Institute Prize for Contemporary Arab Creation.
At the age of 16, the influence of music and hip-hop culture opened a new path for his life, since he became a breakdancer. Traveling the world as a professional competition dancer, a serious knee injury ended his dancing career in 2013, setting the stage for a new artistic transformation: photography as a means of self-expression.
He has been exhibited mainly at the Hermès Paris Foundation, the Miami History Museum, the Basel Contemporary Art Festival and the 1-54 African Art Fair x Hassan Hajjaj Marrakech.
ARTWORKS
SOLO & GROUP SHOW
2019
Exhibition at l’Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris France
2018
Exhibition at Aéroport Montpellier Méditerranée France
Exhibition at Fondation d’entreprise Hermès, Paris France
Solo at 1-54 African Artfair, Riad Yima/Hassan Hajjaj, Marrakech
Solo show and performance at Institut Français, Casablanca
Moussem Cities Loading Casa, Brussels, Belgium
2017
Solo show at Presence Photographie Montèlimar, France
Group exhibition, The Arab Street, Dubai
Solo show Institut Français, Essaouira
REWARDS
2019
Prize of l’Institut du Monde Arabe for Contemporary Arab Creation.
2018
Winner the 7th Contemporary African Photography Prize, Basel
2017
Selected for New York Times Portfolio Review
2016
Les Nuits Photographique, Essaouira
Finalist Lensculture Street Photography Awards, USA
First prize in World Street Photography, Hamburg
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Institut du Monde Arabe (France)
Mi Casa Hassan Hajjaj Marrakech (Maroc)
Fondation d’entreprise Hermès (France)
PRESS
2018
NYTimes : Morocco’s D.I.Y. Dance Crews
WashingtonPost : Voices of African Photography: Dancing with Casablanca’s light
Le blog de l’IMA : Yoriyas Yassine Alaoui, prix 2019 des Amis de l'IMA pour la Jeune création contemporaine arabe
2017
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair : INTERVIEW WITH YORIYAS
HuffPost Maroc : Yoriyas raconte l'histoire derrière les photos de sa série "Casablanca not the movie"