The GEM museum of contemporary art in The Hague organised the exhibition “The Ideal Muslim Woman” an overview of the work of Aline Thomassen  from 10 December 2005 until 2 April 2006. At the same time, she participated in the group exhibition “Respect!” of contemporary art from The Netherlands that ran from 15 November 2005 until the middle of January 2006 in the Dar Si Said Museum and the Badia Palace in Marrakesh, Morocco. The exhbition was part of the celebration of 400 years of contact between The Netherlands and Morocco. The project “I travel in your head” was presented at both locations.

The project “I travel in your head – visual correspondent in The Netherlands” is the counterpoint of “I travel in your head - visual correspondent in Morocco”.

For the project “I travel in your head - visual correspondent in Morocco” Aline Thomassen worked in Tangier and the surrounding province for three months, together with the musician Lázaro Tejedor. Each day a new drawing and sound fragment could be seen on  www.ikreisinjouwhoofd.nl The project was presented by Artoteek Den Haag and Museum Het Domein in Sittard.

For the project “I travel in your head – visual correspondent in The Netherlands” Aline Thomassen worked visual correspondent in the “Schilderswijk” neighbourhood of The Hague. From 15 November 2005 until 31 Januari 2005 she shared her daily experiences in a journal of drawings. Every 48 hours a drawing with sound about life in The Netherlands was sent via internet to Morocco.

The project was presented in both Marrakesh and The Hague: In Marrakesh via an internet connection in the exhibition; in the GEM in The Hague, each new drawing was added to the exhibition as it was made.

Project content

In the form of a diary, Aline Thomassen reported on the life of Moroccan and Dutch women in The Netherlands, against the background of daily life there. “My fascination for Moroccan women in Morocco also applies to women with a Moroccan background in The Netherlands: with the same courage, self-awareness and expression they give form to their lives, living and manoeuvering between two cultures. In my diary of drawings I represent our intimate life as woman in The Netherlands. 

By way of a contrast, the sound fragments of Lázaro Tejedor describe the public sphere of The Netherlands.

Aline Thomassen is known for her watercolours and paintings of Mediterranean women in strange, dreamlike situations. She has been inspired by her many and long stays in Morocco. From 10th of December 2005 until 2nd of April 2006, the GEM museum of contemporary art The Hague showed her work in her first large solo show in a museum. The catalogue "The Ideal Muslim Woman" was edited at this occasion.

Lázaro Tejedor is specialised in performing contemporary music. This is his first  collaboration with a visual artist.