You could find the male youth of Marrakech, Marseille, and Manchester all wearing the same Adidas tracksuits or Nike trainers.” “A lot of the boys wear tracksuits, trainers and branded clothes synthetic fabrics and sportswear are almost indicative of a modernising country and it seems this is a country in transition. Signs of the country's changing times are shown through the sportswear aesthetic that these teenagers embrace. This also gives me a chance to interact with the subject and to find out something about them, even with the language barrier.” “I really don't like to shoot too quickly. Teenage boys appear composed against the backdrops of sun-soaked, tranquil landscapes. To explore the notion of modernity, Ridgard photographs the urban surroundings using a medium format camera to slow things down in the images. Composing portraits showing the contradiction of modern with traditional ideals, the London-based photographer explores the gender politics and fashion found within the changing landscape by capturing Moroccan teenage boys in a city she describes as “dreamlike, yet dusty and harsh”. Lucy Ridgard focuses her lens on a Morocco that is caught in a state of flux.
