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Mohamed Hamri (1933-2000), was a Moroccan painter and one of the few Moroccans to participate in the Tangier Beat Generation scene as an equal. He was born in the Northern Moroccan town of Ksar El Kebir, in 1932. His father was a noted ceramics maker, and it was through this familial tradition that Hamri aquired his early skills as an artist. In 1949 he met the American writer Paul Bowles in Tangier and was soon employed as his cook.

The following year he befriended the Canadian painter Brion Gysin, who became his mentor. They had a joint exhibition in 1952 where Hamri sold all his works and Gysin sold none. Gysin was introduced to the music of Hamri's mothers village of Joujouka and became a life-long promoter of the Sufi trance master musicians who lived there. Together with Gysin he set up the 1001 Nights Restaurant in Tangiers and employed The Master Musicians of Joujouka to play there.

In 1968 he brought Rolling Stone Brian Jones to Joujouka to record. The resulting LP Brian Jones presents the Pipes of Pan at Joujouka was released on Rolling Stones Records in 1971. In 1972 he arranged Ornette Coleman's visit to Joujouka which led to the Dancing in my Head LP. It is commonly regarded as the first "Third World" Music album. From 1974-79 Hamri lived and painted in Los Angeles. In 1975 his book "Tales of Joujouka" was published by Capra Press in Santa Barbara. From 1980 onwards, he divided his time between Tangiers and Joujouka. In 1992 he participated in "The Here to Go Show" in Dublin, Ireland. This show was documented in the documentary "Destroy all Rational Thought" and was a celebration of Willaim Burroughs, Brion Gysin and the Tangier Beat Scene.

In 1994 he supervised the recording by Frank Rynne of the CD Joujouka Black Eyes by The Master Musician of Joujouka. He had over fifty exhibitons of his paintings in Morocco, Spain, Germany, U.S.A, and Ireland. He died in Joujouka in August 2000. His posthumous reputation as a painter is growing, and a recent retrospective was held in the the Laurence Gallery, Tangier. Mohamed Hamri (1932-2000)

Mohamed Hamri, known as "The Painter of Morocco", was born in 1932 in Ksar El Kebir, the nearest town to Joujouka, at the southern end of the Rif Mountains. His father was a ceramics artist who painted his pieces following an ancient tradition. Hamri's mother was born into a family of Joujouka musicians. Hamri attended school for a short time but disliked it. Whenever Hamri ran away from school he went to his uncle's house in Joujouka. His uncle was the leader of the musicians there and the music of Joujouka had a strong effect on Hamri. As a boy he often danced as Boujeloud sewn into goatskins.

Young Hamri

After World War II, life in Joujouka was very difficult as there was very little food available. Hamri helped the musicians avoid this famine by bringing them to Tangier to play. One day, when Hamri was fifteen years old, he was killing time outside the train station in Tangier by drawing in the dust on the ground. He was approached by the American writer Paul Bowles who admired his drawing. This fateful meeting was Hamri's introduction to the sophisticated set that was attracted to Tangier. Bowles soon employed him as a cook. Paul and his wife Jane encouraged Hamri to paint and bought him his first set of watercolours.

Musicians, painted by Hamri

In 1951 Hamri met the Canadian painter Brion Gysin. Together they brought the musicians of Joujouka to the attention of the Beat Generation writers and musicians as varied as Rolling Stone Brian Jones and the American jazz master Ornette Coleman.

Hamri with the Musicians

Hamri continued to promote the music of Joujouka until his death in August 2000. He is buried in the centre of the village, close to the tomb of Sidi Achmed Sheich.

Daughter Sanaa Hamri is a movie director.