Koulchi Ki Swaypi
Navigating the world of dating apps in Morocco
Swipes, matches, Superlikes… Koulchi ki Swaypi is an art installation featuring 32 hand-painted phones that explore Morocco’s online dating ecosystem. At the intersection of writing and visual art, the watercolor-painted profiles and conversations capture how Moroccan men and women navigate, reproduce and challenge prevailing gender roles in the online dating ecosystem.
Using humor and irony, the installation shows that, while dating apps provide a liberating alternative to the restrictive public space, they remain a mirror of the social contradictions, economic tensions, and identity struggles that shape gender relations in Morocco.
Playing with fishing metaphors used in Darija to refer to flirting (Siada), the phones are hooked in a fishing net, like baits waiting to catch and to be caught.
To stand out in the sea of available options, the dating app profiles reveal fragments of their users' identities while omitting their less alluring sides. Yet jellyfish, also caught in the net and present in each profile, loom as a reminder of the twisted thoughts, dark desires, and insecurities that people strive to hide in their online persona.
This installation was exhibited from 14 November 2024 to 10 January 2025 at the American Arts Center in Casablanca, as part of the Bayt Al Fenn Art Residency restitution.