Marrakech Brothers Shot this Musician Like It’s Art

When music meets photography, magic happens. That’s exactly what Moroccan brothers Ismail and Othmane Zaidy created in their latest collaboration with singer-songwriter Meryem Aboulouafa. Known for her debut album Meryem (2020) and singles like Breath of Roma and Ya Qalbi, Meryem continues to inspire with her ethereal voice and poetic lyrics.

For her new song Horses, the Zaidy brothers brought their signature artistic touch. The Marrakech-based photographers are celebrated for transforming everyday images into something surreal, mixing dark colors, minimalist settings, and a painterly aesthetic. With Meryem, they pushed this vision even further. The result? Photos that look less like portraits and more like living paintings.

“We’ve been fans of Meryem’s music for a long time. Then we became friends with her, and finally we worked on this project. It was really nice to collaborate with her,” says Ismail.

The brothers are used to working side by side, blending their perspectives into a shared creative vision. For this project, Othmane took the lead as the main photographer, while Ismail added his artistic direction behind the scenes. That balance of roles, quiet strength and bold vision, shines through in the images.