A KALTBLUT EXCLUSIVE. Photographer Ghalia Kriaa and assistant Miriam Haddad created this stunning editorial with models Habibitch and Souha Baylik. The representation of the Arab youth in fashion and in media, in general, is very minimal and still cliché. So Through her story « Kitsch Arabi » Ghalia Kriaa wanted to make visible what is invisible. Kriaa wants to put forward a community so little represented by reappropriating its own clichés.
“I wanted to take strong symbols of the Maghreb culture and divert them in my own way to
bring out a powerful visual identity. It’s also about diversity, Woman, man, queer, gay,
transgender, feminist, tall, small, religious, atheists: North Africans are as diverse as the
rest of the world. Kitsch Arabi is about embracing our culture and showing different
ways of representation.
I wanted to include people that inspire me such as Habibitch. Habibitch is an Algerian
dancer, performer, and choreographer living in Paris. A key figure of the Parisian ballroom
scene, she is also an influential activist. We had a talk about representation and
embracement.”
What does dancing mean to you?
Dance is my tool therapy tool, it’s my breath in life and it’s what keeps me going. It’s a
vector of expression that’s very powerful for me. It has always been, even before I became
a professional dancer. It’s my favorite way of expression and it’s very cathartic.
Why is it so important for you to claim your origins and sexuality, especially in this
current context in France?
I am Algerian, I was born in Algiers and I live in France. I claim it because it’s me but it’s
not necessarily a claim … For me talking about claiming my origin and my sexuality is
equivalent to telling me ” why you have to put labels, to categorize yourself, etc…” I would
like not to, but we don’t live in a world of teddy bears and we are obliged to categorize
ourselves because it’s the society that does it. So it’s good to reverse the way we look at
these kinds of questions. I’ve experienced a lot of racism and lesbophobia, so yeah, I’m
claiming my Algerieanity and my queerness because society is deeply racist and
homophobic, so it’s a subversive act to claim that I’m outside the norms.
How and Where do you find the strength to be true to yourself?
The places where I found the strength to be true to myself are the places where I know
myself. The older I get, the better I know myself. Sounds pretty basic but it’s super true, I
feel super aligns with what I believe in and what I do to act on what I believe in because
I’m an activist and I like actions. So, even in this context of a global pandemic, I try my best
to be active on the subjects that I care about, like Queer issues, decolonial issues,
feminism issues… and all of that together since I’m all for intersectionality. I try to be active
through my art practice, my dance and I try to mix both all the time. And this is how I Am
true to myself because I am these things all together at this same time, I’m queer, I’m
Algerian, I’m French, I’m a curvy body, a body seen as a woman, I’m a dancing body. I
claim all of these identities in my art practice, my dance, and in my activism, this is
allowed to be very centered.
What do you think of the North Africans representation in the world of fashion?
I don’t know much about the representation of North Africans in fashion, but that’s
necessarily what I think of the representation of North Africans in general in their media
coverage and visibility, it is cliché and stereotyped. So when I represent myself, I like to
play with subtlety. For example, I will dress in the colors of the Algerian flag but I will not
dress with visible signs because I find that it has been done and redone and after a while
it is no longer a reappropriation or a claiming but just a cliche. I try to show that we can
be North Africans and have other forms of representation.
How do you want to change things, especially regarding the representation of North
Africans in the art world
By creating representation, visibility, by simply existing. Most of the messages I get are a
lot of thanks for just existing and taking the public and the media space because just
showing that we exist as North African queers is an act of change. We have been
invisible although we do exist.
In your opinion, are things really evolving regarding the representation of North
Africans in Media and in the art world?
I don’t think that in the mainstream media the representations of North-Africans are
evolving but I do think that thanks to social media, things are changing. I get messages
every day from people that are queer and north-Africans telling me I am opening doors for
them. And I’ve been doing it for ten years, with or without visibility on my social
platforms. But regarding self-representation, things are changing thanks to social media.
Social media is not real life and can be evil but It allows people to be seen and to feel
seen.
Words by Ghalia Kriaa
Credits
Creative direction and photography Ghalia Kriaa @ghalia.kriaa
Photography assistant Miriam Haddad @saint_lucyfer
Model Habibitch @_habibitch_ & Souha Baylik @souhabaylik
Styling by Ghalia Kriaa thanks to the designers: Leila Nour Johnson @Leila_nour_johnson, Da Chikha Safran @qualityimansafran
Accessories Tamarzizt @tamarzizt, Piquante @piqante
