FROM OCTOBER 03, 2026 TO MARCH 07, 2027
An adventurer whose life story is worthy of a novel, Odette du Puigaudeau (b. Saint-Nazaire, 1894 – d. Rabat, 1991) was one of the keenest observers of the Sahara. Through her writings, drawings and photographs produced during her lengthy, unhurried journeys across the desert, she always sought to capture the character of nomadic societies grappling with the shift toward settled life and industrial modernity.
Her body of work aims to “awaken a longing for the desert.” While Odette du Puigaudeau’s life and travels are inextricably linked to the land of “the Moors,” a term then used to include various North African peoples, her discovery of these societies and cultures was also a journey of self-discovery.
Following exhibitions dedicated to Bert Flint (1931–2022) in 2020 and Théophile-Jean Delaye (1896–1971) in 2022, the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech and the Pierre Bergé Museum of Berber Arts continue their exploration of key figures who bore witness to the history, geography and anthropology of Morocco and the Sahara during the twentieth century.
Exhibition curators: Hayate Machache and Monique Vérité
Exhibition design : Jasmin Oezcebi
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