The battle of the skins
A millennial practice of an ancient trade that passes from one generation to the other practically unchanged since medieval times.
Fez, Morocco, is home to several ancient leather tanneries. The oldest being the Chouara Tannery. For almost a thousand years the Chouara Tannery has been washing, treating, dyeing and transforming animal skins into stunning leather goods. For this series of work, The Battle of the Skins, I had the rare opportunity of photographing that setting. Making my pictures I was at once struck by the tannery’s flood of vibrant color, unparalleled textures, and esthetically alluring frames. My lens instinctively went to the process itself of crafting such richness.
In my probe, I found myself immersed in a parallel world — a place where animal skins become leather, while the human skin also experiences a period of deep alteration. As part of the process, sweat-drenched men laboring under the hot sun stand for hours in a sordid mixtures. From this toil in pungent air, rags of skin are morphed into a silk-like vibrant spectrum of leathers. I became captivated with the duality and tension in that transformation. I needed to know more of how the trade’s rather analog operation could yield such modern statements of fashion. The Battle of the Skins is the result of my following these curiosities.
