Born in 1997 in El Hajeb (Morocco). Lives and works in Paris (France).
Self-taught photographer Mehdi Ait El Mallali began his practice as a teenager, documenting the topography and morphology of the Atlas Mountains where he grew up. His work soon expanded beyond geography to embrace broader territories, guided by a constant urge to observe and translate the world around him. For Mehdi, photography is not only an act of seeing but a manifesto of freedom, an open field for narrative, memory and imagination.
After traveling through remote provinces of Morocco, his focus shifted toward sociological and intimate themes. Deeply influenced by cinema, his images draw on its aesthetic dimensions such as light, temporality and silence to transform material into poetic resonance.
His work has been presented in group exhibitions at Galerie 127, the Montélimar Photo Festival, the National Photography Museum in Rabat, the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in Marrakech and during the Nuits Photos in Essaouira. In 2024, he received the first prize of the Mustaqbal Award and was awarded a residency at the Montresso* Art Foundation in Marrakech, where he is now a resident artist and presented his first solo exhibition. He also completed a residency with the Kamel Lazaar Foundation in Tunisia.
Available for comissions in Paris & Morocco
Contact, Prints & Business Inquiries: contact@mehdiaitelmallali.com
Solo Exhibitions
"Blur" solo show - Montresso Art Foundation - November 2024
Collective Exhibitions
Rencontres d'Arles - La Nuit de l’Année - July 2025
Woven Crossing Collective Exhibition, Montreuil - March 2025
1-54 Art Fair Marrakech, La Mamounia - January 2025
Nostalgie Du Present - Al Hamra Marrakech - January 2025
"Madda" Alchimies photographiques - Artorium Fondation TGCC - November 2024
OFF Rencontres Photo Arles, Exhibition "The Language of Pictures" - July 2024
Prix Mustaqbal 2023, Artorium Fondation TGCC - January 2024
Yasalam Exhibition - L'Blassa Art Space, Marrakech - November 2023
Face à la Mer Mentorship Program, Tangier - November 2022
"Nadra", Noorseen Collective Exhibition at Galerie127 Montreuil - October 2021
"Nadra", Noorseen Collective Exhibition at Maison du Maroc, Paris - June 2021
Collective Exhibition, Ta7rir Morocco, at l'UZINE foundation, Casablanca - February 2021
Photo Festival "Présences photographie", Montélimar France - November 2020
Founder Member of Noorseen Collective
OFF 1-54 Art Fair, Bab Hotel, Marrakech - February 2020
Collective Exhibition "Points de vue", Galerie Abla Ababou, Rabat - February 2020
Collective Exhibition "Sourtna", The National Museum of Photography, Rabat - January 2020
Collective Exhibition, L’UZINE Casablanca - December 2019
Festival "Les nuits photographiques d’Essaouira" - October 2019
OFF Festival of Photography in Essaouira - September 2018
Collective Documentary Project / L’UZINE: "Habiter une cité ouvrière" Casablanca
Exhibition in Fine Arts School of Casablanca - May 2018
Exhibition in L’UZINE Casablanca - January 2019
Transatlantica Photo Espana - October 2017
Residencies
Tilal Utique, Kamal Lazaar Foundation Tunisia - July / August 2025
Montresso Art Foundation - June / July 2024
Collections:
TGCC Foundation
Montresso Foundation
Kamel Lazaar Foundation
Privation Collections
Prizes & Nominations
1st Prize at Prix Mustaqbal 3rd Edition 2024
Nomination Paul Huf Photography Award - 2024
Nomination Top 20 Best african photobook of the year - Eiger Foundation 2024
Press & Publications
The Royal Photographic Society Fall Issue 2024
Funambulist Magazine - March 2018.
Pop Up - 2M
Lioumness
Noorseen : Mille World - Middle East Eye - Cosmic Mektoub - Diptyk