Raja Khairat

Morocco – Thoria Razqi, from the city of Salé near Rabat, chose to face the COVID‑19 pandemic in her own way. At a time when the world surrendered to the pandemic's restrictions, she was documenting her daily life through artistic paintings made from agate, sfifa, and simple materials around her. Her style captured the hearts of everyone who saw her work, starting with her family, who did not expect such a profound artistic talent to be hidden within her.

 

At a time when the world was rearranging priorities and abandoning things that once seemed essential, Thoria Razqi rearranged her daily life by immersing herself in the self and bringing out a talent that burst forth like springs of water.

About this experience, she says: "More than five years ago, we were forced to stay in our homes because of the pandemic. It was complicated for me. I was bored. I brought out my stock of agate and sfifa and started shaping paintings, initially inspired by the pandemic, then moved on to other themes that always concerned me, such as Moroccan women, childhood, and others."

The conviction that took hold of Thoria Razqi turned into a driving force that made her tame boredom and isolation. Although that isolation was not entirely harsh, her refined sensibility transformed the weight of the moments into vibrant art expressing all the emotions stirring within her.

The isolation she lived through, as she says, pushed her to dig into everything that seemed worthless – scattered pieces of agate, sfifa threads, discarded cardboard, and whatever fell into her hands by chance. She dusted them off and began to reshape them, turning fading objects into vibrant sculptures and dolls. Little by little, it was no longer just killing time; it became a visual language through which she expressed the quarantine experience imposed on everyone.

Art as a life project

Thoria Razqi believes that art is a message and that inside every woman, regardless of her status and situation, there lies a life project waiting to be rescued and brought out from a dark spot within the self into the light.

The experience she lived through during the quarantine period pushed her to think about expanding the project, eventually leading her to create her own channel through which she teaches children how to make dolls and transform seemingly worthless objects into useful sculptures and dolls.

 

She managed to turn her art from a method she discovered to escape her isolation into an educational project that attracted many children who found in her company through her channel a way to be rescued from the domination of technology and smartphones. Thanks to the dolls she dressed in Moroccan attire, she also highlighted the tributaries of Moroccan culture, which vary from one region to another – traditional mountain, Amazigh, and Sahrawi clothing.

The paintings became messages for all her loved ones and relatives. Sometimes she created a painting for her little granddaughter to express her love and longing for her; other times she created paintings to tell the world that she is still alive and has not lost hope.

 

A message to all women

Her artistic experience formed an important turning point in her life. She is a mother who never succumbed to the traditional position imposed on her socially. In addition to her passion for art, she loves to travel and learn.

She still has many things that have not yet seen the light. Many ideas she wants to embody through her creations, content with pieces of cardboard, agate, and sfifa (threads used in sewing the Moroccan caftan). She believes that Moroccan women are strong and distinguished; it is enough to give them opportunities to express themselves in various fields, whether artistic or otherwise.

The issues that Thoria Razqi raises in her works recall the spirit of primitive art that characterized the experience of the folk artist Talal – that art which presented Moroccan women in their authentic image before the influences of other cultures crept in. This is what Thoria Razqi succeeded in embodying through colors and details of traditional attire, drawing with the innocence of a child and the depth of a mature woman, sending powerful messages to all women, regardless of their social positions. Her messages say that inside every woman there is a human project waiting to be rescued from darkness and pushed toward the light.