Biography
Born and raised in New Jersey, Amine Shimou grew up navigating a sense of cultural isolation while maintaining a deep connection to his Moroccan Amazighen heritage through periodic stays in Morocco. This duality shaped his artistic voice—a bridge between worlds. Feeling out of place in suburban America led him to seek belonging through creation, channeling solitude into projects that reflected distant landscapes and imagined spaces of peace. His time in Morocco, especially within Amazighen villages and his family’s home in Agadir, revealed a quiet humility and sense of origin that became central to his work. These experiences allowed him to reconnect with the ancestral identity he once felt separated from and to translate that rediscovery into art that speaks to humanity’s shared longing for place, humility, and hope.
The Process
Amine lives nomadically, often residing between New Jersey and Morocco while traveling the world to find inspiration in remote, humble communities imbued with Barakah—a spiritual sense of grace and contentment. His creative process is intuitive and spontaneous, rooted in deep observation. He studies subtle human gestures, silence, the texture of landscapes, and even overlooked details like forgotten trees or discarded objects that reveal hidden narratives. Through this lens, he reconstructs the emotional and cultural essence of “forgotten places,” transforming them into visual reflections of the human spirit. Though his practice flows naturally, he grounds it with structured discipline to maintain a rhythm that honors both the freedom of discovery and the rigor of craftsmanship.