People of Ibiza: Basma Zahi
Casablanca-born Basma Zahi is a multidisciplinary visionary, content producer and model whose creative platform, Hammam Eivissa, creates a dialogue between Moroccan artisans and Ibiza's wider artistic community.
'Casablanca is chaotic and colourful and very, very busy. It is a vivid and vibrant city but it is also an urban centre and there is a real sense of disconnect from the natural world. It wasn’t until we started spending summers in the north of Morocco, on the Mediterranean near Ceuta, that I touched a tree and looked at the sky or even became aware that the moon was there. Being close to the Mediterranean would become a huge influence on me.
I was 16 the first time I travelled to Ibiza. I was visiting some family who already lived here. I’ll never forget the feeling of the warm sea breeze on my skin when we arrived. It felt like northern Morocco. Very quickly I saw the similarities between the traditional way of life in the north of my own country and that of the payés people of Ibiza. The farms, the architecture, the slow way of life. The way everything adapts to the heat and the drought. Even the traditional dress has many similarities. My family has a very strong tribal background – my great grandfather was one of the tribal founders of Casablanca - and despite not growing up that way myself, the rhythm of the Ibiza’s countryside felt familiar to me, like a homecoming.
Basma means smile in Arabic, and my surname, Zahi, means happiness. When my parents decided to leave Casablanca for good and relocate to Ibiza to be close to my aunt and cousins, it was the happiest day of my life. Moving to Ibiza was like being reborn, both creatively and personally. It was challenging for me at first to find myself here and to make new friends. I only spoke French and English. I became aware of a real pattern of dark and light in Ibiza. Some days I felt completely alone. Others I remember seeing fruit hanging from the tree and being almost unable to comprehend it. It was so different to the world in which I’d grown up.
All this change and metamorphosis allowed my artistic side to develop. I found a group of people with whom I developed an extraordinarily intuitive sense of creation – the photographer Maya David, for example. The aesthetic of the island became my muse – the clarity of the light, the spare simplicity of the rocks and waters, the earthy, saturated tones - it reminded me so much of the north of my homeland. Creating artistic and video content became a very natural process to me because I am surrounded by that which inspires me. It's quite clear in my head that this is where I belong, that this is where I want to experience my culture. I feel at home in Ibiza because the island welcomes everyone. You can express your religion, your culture, your spirituality and the way you dress. Nobody is made to feel different. There is an intensity in summer and a solitude, a quietness in winter that creates a life more in tune with the seasonal rhythms of natural world. In a way, I’m in love with Ibiza. The island has given me everything. It gave me peace in my heart. It gave me creative freedom. I fell in love here. I have space to move and to think and to experiment. I feel balanced in my head and in my heart. Life feels lighter here. I have found my home.'
