The Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakech is set to host a captivating exhibition titled "In the Footsteps of Odette du Puigaudeau" from October 3, 2026, to March 7, 2027. This exhibition will shine a light on the life and legacy of Odette du Puigaudeau, a talented designer, journalist, explorer, and ethnologist born in 1894 in Saint-Nazaire and who passed away in Rabat in 1991. With over 200 artworks and documents, the exhibition will feature an extensive collection of photographs, drawings, manuscripts, objects, audio archives, and excerpts from documentary films. These pieces have been sourced from notable collections, including the Pierre Bergé Museum of Berber Arts and the Jardin Majorelle Foundation, as well as private collections.
The exhibition narrates the journey of Odette du Puigaudeau through three distinct phases: her early years in Saint-Nazaire and Paris from 1894 to 1934, her adventurous travels through deserts from 1934 to 1961, and her final years in Rabat until her death in 1991. In 1933, Odette and her companion Marion Sénones left France for Mauritania, embarking on numerous expeditions across the Sahara. Her work is significant for documenting nomadic cultures, everyday objects, hairstyles, jewelry, dwellings, and traditional crafts of the desert. The southern regions of Morocco, particularly Tiznit, the Oued Tamanart valley, and Foum El Hassan, are prominently featured in her oeuvre, where she recorded numerous petroglyphs.
After settling in Rabat in 1961, Odette worked for Moroccan radio and later directed the prehistory office of the Rabat Antiquities Museum from 1970 to 1977. She is also credited with authoring eight books and an ethnological treaty focused on the Moorish people. The exhibition is co-curated by Hayate Machache, the curator of collections at both the Pierre Bergé Museum of Berber Arts and the Yves Saint Laurent Museum, alongside Monique Vérité, a biographer of Odette du Puigaudeau. The architectural design of the exhibition is crafted by Jasmin Oezcebi, promising a visually stunning experience.
As reported by consonews.ma.
