Hicham Benohoud’s new photobook “The Classroom” is a photographic ode to the relationship between power and pedagogy

Moroccan visual artist Hicham Benohoud’s forthcoming photobook, The Classroom, offers an introspective and striking exploration of postcolonial identity through the lens of education and authority. In an intricate fusion of photography, performance, and staged imagery, Benohoud revisits the world of the classroom—a place that shaped much of his early artistic practice. This upcoming publication by Loose Joints not only revisits his iconic series but also underscores his pioneering contribution to the discourse on identity politics and the intersection of pedagogy and the body.

Benohoud’s journey into photography began in the early 1990s, an era of rigid educational systems in Morocco that deeply influenced his work. “At first, I wanted to be a painter,” he shares in an exclusive interview. “But due to a lack of resources, I turned to photography as a means to capture my ideas before transforming them into oil paintings.” What initially began as a technical means of preserving visual references gradually evolved into a profound and deeply reflective artistic practice.

In The Classroom, Benohoud’s evocative use of photography delves into his own experiences as a middle school teacher in Morocco. His frustration with the limited artistic resources and oppressive educational system of the time led him to experiment with photography as a pedagogical tool. He would create a makeshift darkroom in his classroom, encouraging his students to engage with photography in a way that transcended traditional boundaries of instruction. As he describes it, “I was introducing an element of escape—a way to both rebel and create—by blending imagination with the daily grind.”

The resulting photographs, filled with absurdity, humor, and tension, provide a surreal commentary on the limitations of traditional education while addressing the broader themes of control, freedom, and identity. Benohoud’s Classroom series juxtaposes playful and sometimes unsettling compositions, where the mundane classroom setting transforms into a site of resistance and transformation. Through his lens, the students’ faces emerge not just as portraits, but as symbols of conformity and rebellion.

“The faces of my students are not my focal point,” Benohoud explains. “I was not concerned with expressions alone but with what those bodies and those environments communicated in the larger context of education and identity.” His photographs capture a multitude of expressions—from smiles to quiet tension—highlighting the spectrum of experiences and emotions that often go unnoticed in the educational process.

Through this body of work, Benohoud also explores the notion of confinement, a theme that permeates much of his broader artistic output. “Moroccan society imposed an identity on me that did not align with my own vision of self,” he reflects. “In my work, I use metaphors—like the wrapping of bodies in fabric or paper—to symbolize the immobility and suffocation that comes with this imposed identity.” His powerful images in The Classroom take on a dual meaning, reflecting both the personal struggle against societal norms and the broader, collective challenge of negotiating one’s identity within the confines of a traditional system.

In this latest publication, Loose Joints brings Benohoud’s original negatives from the Classroom series back into the spotlight. The book, which features 144 pages of evocative, monotone plates, presents an updated and comprehensive appraisal of the series. Edited and curated by Sarah Chaplin Espenon, the book also includes an excerpt from Michel Foucault’s Discipline and Punish, which serves as a theoretical backdrop for Benohoud’s exploration of power, control, and education. “The book offers greater visibility,” says Benohoud. “Unlike an exhibition, it can be revisited anytime and anywhere, making it a more enduring object of reflection.”

The work also sheds light on Benohoud’s legacy in Moroccan art. Born in Marrakech in 1968, Benohoud was exposed to a limited artistic landscape, where access to contemporary art was scarce. “In the 1980s, there was no internet, no galleries, and no museums in Morocco,” he recalls. “We had only a few books or magazines, mostly from France, and a handful of local artists whose works were rarely exhibited.” Despite these constraints, Benohoud’s innovative approach to photography has since earned him international acclaim, with exhibitions at the Centre Pompidou, Palais de Tokyo, and Hayward Gallery, and his work now housed in prestigious collections like Tate Modern.

As Benohoud’s new book is set to be launched, the artist reflects on the journey of sharing his work with the world. “Every artist has an urgency to share their creations, to have them seen,” he says. “But what excites me most about this book is how it will be engaged with outside of the exhibition space. It allows the work to transcend time and space, to live on beyond the confines of the gallery walls.”

With The Classroom, Hicham Benohoud continues to challenge the conventions of visual art and photography, offering a rich and layered reflection on the complexities of identity, authority, and the politics of education. In this collection, he invites us to personally re-examine our own narratives and question the forces that shape them. As Benohoud puts it, “Art has the ability to produce different interpretations, but it is the personal connection to the work that truly matters.”

The Classroom by Hicham Benohoud is published by Loose Joints through to www.loosejoints.biz