Revised version of Tales of Joujouka available to order in limited edition now.
A newly revised exclusive edition of Hamri’s book Tales of Joujouka has been published.
The book features Hamri’s stories and folk tales from his home village Joujouka, including the history of the music performed by the Master Musicians of Joujouka and the legend of Boujeloud.
The book was published to coincide with the Hamri Revisited exhibition featuring a collection of artworks by Mohamed Hamri, also known as ‘The Painter of Morocco,’ displayed at the Tangier American Legation.
The book was originally published in 1975 by Capra Press in California. It was translated from Darija by Hamri’s wife, Blanca Hamri.
The exhibition, also including many portraits of the Master Musicians of Joujouka, was originally scheduled to run between March and June in 2020, and was postponed due to the museum’s closure during the Covid-19 pandemic amid lockdown measures in Morocco.
Following the museum’s re-opening in July the exhibition was open for an extended run from October 2020.
On 21st July 2020, the day before the reopening of the Tangier American Legation Museum, Blanca Hamri invited a small group of friends to see the exhibit, featuring paintings and other artwork by her late husband.
Watch Blanca Hamri take a tour of the Hamri Revisited exhibition at the Tangier American Legation here:
A statement from the Tangier American Legation said: “We thank Blanca Hamri, the wife of this great 20th century Moroccan painter, for generously loaning us works from her private collection.
“Special thanks go to both Blanca Hamri and to Youssef El Boukhari, who created this lovely video.
“We also thank Blanca for her patience – the Hamri Revisited exhibit was supposed to open in March and close in July, but was delayed due to the pandemic. If you cannot visit the Legation Museum to view this exhibit before it closes, you can enjoy a virtual guided tour by Blanca herself.”
Mohamed Hamri (1932-2000) was a Moroccan artist born in the village of Joujouka. As a child among the first sounds he heard were the pipes and drums performed by the Master Musicians of Joujouka.
By the late 1940s Hamri was bringing groups of his family’s Musicians to Tangier playing music on the trains.
In 1950 Hamri encountered Paul Bowles and soon met Brion Gysin who would become his mentor.
After meeting Hamri, Gysin was soon introduced to the music of the Master Musicians of Joujouka, of which he said, “I just want to hear that music for the rest of my life.”
In 1954 Gysin and Hamri opened the 1,001 Nights restaurant in a wing of the Menebhi Palace in Tangier where a group of visiting Master Musicians of Joujouka played every night.
In August 1968 he organised the trip to the village for Jones which resulted in the LP, Brian Jones Presents The Pipes Of Pan At Joujouka, released in 1971 on Rolling Stones Records. The gatefold sleeve artwork for the album featured Hamri’s painting of Brian Jones the Master Musicians of Joujouka.
To order a copy of Tales of Joujouka click below (worldwide P&P included) *** SOLD OUT ***
Read more about the Hamri Revisited exhibition here
For more information visit the Tangier American Legation website
