Briques (Bricks) - Art Fund Collection of Middle Eastern Photography

This work adds to the Art Fund Collection of Middle Eastern Photography at the V&A and the British Museum, which was acquired in 2009 and 2010. The Art Fund has given the two museums grants over £150,000 for the collection and additional support for the tour of the collection. Yto Barrada is an internationally-recognised Moroccan artist who works in photography, video, sculpture and installation. Bricks emphasises BarradaÂ’s interest in the contemporary social conditions in Morocco. In the foreground of this large-scale photographs is a pile of bricks. Scattered across the hillsides behind are recent constructions, some finished, others incomplete. The pile of bricks are suggestive of the haphazardness of these building projects—will they soon be formed into something constructive? Or are they left over from some abandoned project? Through BarradaÂ’s lens, they are formally appealing as well, bringing to mind a minimalist art installation.