Born in 1991, the Franco-Moroccan artist Mounir Ayache invites us to take a fresh look at the political and social realities of the Arab world through his technological creations. He graduated from the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 2017 and was a resident at the Villa Medici (2022–2023 session).

By drawing on the conventions of science fiction—which he blends with family histories and an imaginative reappropriation of Arab experiences and identities— he is part of the unofficial movement known as Arabfuturism, influenced by 1990s Afrofuturism, which draws on fiction to propose alternative narratives. Mounir Ayache parodies Western fiction’s portrayals of the Other and the Foreigner, and uses new technologies to create and convey his ideas, thereby blurring the lines between contemporary art and entertainment.

Her year-long residency at the Villa Medici provided an opportunity to conduct research for a fictional project centered on the character Léon l’Africain, author of *Description of Africa from the 16th to the 26th Century*, which takes the form of writing, sculpture, and installation art.