Photos By Gail

Palm Sign (2010) is part of a larger body of work in which artist Ito Barrada explores how the symbol of the palm tree is used in marketing campaigns to promote ‘contemporary’ Morocco. The worn a decaying appearance of Palm Sign evokes formerly popular holiday destinations now left in disrepair, highlighting the cyclical nature of modernization and decay.

Palm Sign reflects Barrada’s consistent interest in analogue and ready made materials. The funfair aesthetic wryly speaks to the way artificial landscapes are quickly transplanting indigenous ecologies in Morocco and, more broadly, around the world.

Photographed in the Tate Modern Museum in London.