Abandonné

Abandoned

Artist: DAMSSILI (Mohamed Damssili)
Year: 2021
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 127 × 76 cm
Style: Fine art · orientalism · landscape

An abandoned carriage outside the walls of Taroudant at sunset. The driver seems to no longer need his horse or his carriage (Kotchi): he has left everything behind.

In Taroudant, as in many Moroccan cities, carriages used to be everywhere. With the arrival of the car, these faithful companions became obsolete, and horses too old to work are abandoned. The image becomes a symbol of the end of a tradition and of the uncertain fate of these animals, collateral victims of progress.

Beyond nostalgia for a vanished time, this scene invites us to rethink our relationship with animals.

The end of the carriages

In this 127 × 76 cm painting from 2021, an abandoned carriage (a kotchi) stands outside the walls of Taroudant at sunset, under a red-orange sky. The driver seems to need neither his horse nor his carriage any more: he has left everything behind.

In Taroudant, as in many Moroccan cities, horse-drawn carriages used to be everywhere. With the arrival of the car, these faithful companions became obsolete, and horses too old to work are abandoned. The image becomes a symbol of the end of a tradition and of the uncertain fate of these animals, collateral victims of progress.

Beyond nostalgia for a vanished time, the scene invites us to rethink our relationship with animals.