Harry Gruyaert: Morocco

Photographer Gruyaert (Harry Gruyaert) delivers a striking visual ode to the people and landscapes of Morocco. Gathered from the author’s visits to the country beginning in the 1970s, the collection includes images of grand expanses bathed in high-intensity reds, oranges, and yellow ochres; sparsely peopled scenes that are as mysterious as a de Chirico painting; walls cast with enormous, perspective-skewing shadows that diminish the human figures next to them; and women whose faces are turned away from the camera, resulting in a wonderfully disorienting effect where silhouettes coalesce into abstract forms (the “impact of a human presence without a face” makes for a “different way of being present, with no labels or identity,” in Gruyaert’s view). Aside from a brief introduction, the author lets the images speak for themselves, refraining from giving context even when some might be useful. Still, the streamlined approach bears fruit. It’s a captivating peek into an enigmatic country. (July)