Moroccan artist, Moustapha Akrim’s artwork Attajamhor, 2022, grapples with the petrification of systems of governance and their attending legislative bodies that never seem to enact the laws they supposedly uphold. The term 'Attajamhur' ('Public Assembly') is used in Article 29 of the Moroccan Constitution whereby "the freedoms of reunion, of assembly, of peaceful demonstration, of association and of syndical and political membership [appartenance], are guaranteed". However, these ideals are rarely applicable in reality and function more for their aesthetic potential. As such, all words within this piece are petrified and rusting: they are unmovable, and do not give way for change. Simultaneously, the work acknowledges that we are living in a transitional period. The material of the piece will continue to change with time: it began as raw material, was transformed into steel, and will continue to change into a different form as time progresses. 

While this work speaks directly to the situation in Morocco, the lack of application of constitutional laws is experienced across the globe in many countries, particularly across many Arab nations. This work brings the viewer face to face with the ways in which reality differs from the idealism of laws, both at the local level (e.g. national constitutions), and at the global level (e.g. Human Rights Charter). The incongruity of having laws that preserve an individual’s rights, while demanding that for assembly to take place there must be due bureaucratic process of acquiring permits is the same across many nations. Everywhere, these processes are put into place in order to enact a system of control rather than to safeguard freedoms. 

The layered and deteriorated metal sheets make it difficult to tell the words they represent apart. Instead, they become a single, heavy mass that is eroding. However, in its complete form, the piece tries to push for a new language that forces us to contend with the principles of freedom of expression, work, and citizenship. Attajamhur, 2022, forces the viewer to take part in attempting to dislodge these principles from their petrification.