THE MUREX LURE
This photo essay documents the extent of the use of “Murex Blue” within the town of Essaouira, Morocco, and the roots of the colour within the fishing industry. You can read the full essay here.
This series was awarded first place in the Australian Network of Student Anthropologists 2020 Visual Ethnography competition.
In Carolyn West's "Murex Lure," this beautiful composite portrait of a city teaches us to see and make connections, as a specific history of place claims asserts itself through threads of startling blue. A lovely rhythm is produced, as clues are laid to the place of Murex Blue in the Moroccan fishing town where West has been working. As the submission discussion points out, finding out what’s going on here requires hanging around for longer than an Instagram moment, and so the case for ethnography’s long durée is made—while demonstrating ethnography’s potential to change the way we see the world.
— Australian Network of Student Anthropologists
Here you will find a very modest and particular shade of blue permeating the walls of the city from the window shutters to the tiny blue boats fishermen take out into the Atlantic every morning before sunrise.
Murex blue isn’t just an aesthetic choice for the residents of Essaouira, but a visual manifestation of the area’s identity, history and culture. Locally harvested hexaplex trunculus murex molluscs produce the range of colours found only in this modern-day seaport. Generations of men have sailed out of the half-moon bay in search of fish and murex for three millennia.
Some travellers may overlook this unique hue as a simple aesthetic choice — the perfect addition to their feed — a quick walk to the local fish market will provide you with a deeper insight into Essaouira’s Murex history.
