Leave those kids alone! Teaching through play

The Guardian

25-03-2025

During his time as a plastic arts teacher in 1990s Marrakech, he collaborated with his young students to create performative works in the classroom
Benohoud created a makeshift darkroom in his classroom and used photography to foster collaborative and hands-on learning, encouraging students to engage with creativity and identity
The images created with his students blend absurdity, humour and unease
In contrasting classroom monotony with free movement, The Classroom builds a playful critique of postcolonial identity, where childlike creative gestures appear in a more ambiguous aesthetic that hints at oppression, violence and isolation
Teaching showed Benohoud how trapped his pupils were both socially and economically, 'my students come from a disadvantaged social background' he says. 'In most of their families, for financial reasons, girls are married off very young while they are still in school. The boys, even if they manage to get their baccalaureate, often end up practicing the profession of their father, who is often a farmer or worker.' Benohoud's classroom became an imagined world in which they could find true freedom
'I had my student wear my sweater. This was the first time I incorporated an object from outside the classroom into the series. I had already exhausted all the available materials in the classroom … storage paper, plastic, tape and so on,' Bonohoud says
The work of Benohoud, who is a graduate of the École supérieure des arts décoratifs in Strasbourg, transforms everyday objects into unsettling, thought-provoking compositions
'This was the final image produced in this series. For years, I had envisioned capturing a photograph of a student jumping on to a stool, but I hesitated out of concern that an accident could happen,' says Benohoud
'Despite its apparent simplicity, this image was particularly challenging to capture. The model had to stand on tiptoe for an extended period while maintaining a relaxed facial expression.' Benohoud talks more about this photograph in our My Best Shot interview
The new publication of this work draws from the artist's archive, building the first comprehensive appraisal of Benohoud's groundbreaking series while highlighting the modern relevance of the work in its engagement with performance, politics, pedagogy and the body, decades ahead of its time