Portfolios: Seeing in Series
Lalla Essaydi: Night of the Henna limited edition portfolio

The night of the Henna is important in an unmarried Moroccan woman’s life; it is the equivalent of a bachelor’s night. This is the last night she spends with her friends and family as a single woman before she becomes a wife and enters into a life of adult responsibility.

In each of the seven still-lifes, traditional objects are completely decorated by the artist in henna: Eggs suggest fragility and femininity, and above all, fertility. Candles symbolize light, to lighten the bride's life in marriage and motherhood. Sugar cones are to sweeten the transition from the bride's father's home, and a carefree state, to a more responsible role in her husband's home. Virginal white flowers become emblems of fragrance and purity. White shoes foretell the dress she will wear the next day when she meets her husband. White fava bean powder will become the mask the bride will wear during the Hamman ceremony which follows the Henna night. Cloth bundles represent gifts from the groom, usually made of embroidered silk displayed on large trays and transported on horse-drawn carts.

Night of the Henna is a portfolio of seven signed and numbered color photographs published by Laurence Miller Gallery, New York , in a limited edition of 36, plus 5 artist proof sets. The photographs are 20 x 24”, matted archivally to 28 x 32”.  Each portfolio box is covered with a unique piece of the artist’s original henna inscribed cloth from her series Converging Territories.