Argania: Lack of Information Is My Family History records the artist’s personal search for her heritage. With little to no information about her family history, MAryam Touzani sets off on a journey tracing the story of her Moroccan ancestry and multicultural upbringing. 

Using her teeth—carriers of one’s unique genetic encoding—as a starting point, MAryam Touzani photographs and assembles all the pieces of evidence she can collect: from dental X-rays and passport images, to her father’s death certificate and colonial maps omitting her ancestor’s region of origin. In her investigation where answers do not seem to come straightforward, photography becomes a poetic tool, allowing Touzani to reconstruct her past, in order to imagine her future.  

The title refers to the scientific name of the argan tree, one of the oldest existing trees growing in the Sous valley in southwestern Morocco. Traditionally, the fruits are processed into argan oil by women from the local Amazigh community. As an Amazigh woman, but born and raised in The Netherlands, MAryam Touzani uses the symbol of the argan tree to trace back her roots and honour her female ancestors.