Hamid Kachmar is a descendant of a nomadic Berber tribe in Tafilalet, a region in the southeastern part of Morocco. His materials and techniques evoke metaphors, moods, and expressions of where he grew up and his travels experiences. Kachmar’s fanatical use of natural pigments, most of which are from his mother’s dying repertoire include, walnut, madder, henna, and saffron....their preparation is part of his alchemistic approach to creativity. He uses textured surfaces to convey memory’s persistence and perseverance: colors are of earth tones - warm shades of yellows, browns, reds, ochre’s; colors from southeastern Morocco. Most of the materials have a sort of “sacred” value or a close relationship with his background; wool, wood and sand are of a major presence in his work. His goal is to bring his cultural heritage to speak across time and cultural borders. By incorporating symbols of the alphabet “Tifinagh,” weaving, architecture and body adornment patterns, he captures the wisdom of Berber myths and tales and by communicating its imaginative energy. “I’d like to consider myself, along with historians, writers, poets and architects, a perpetuator and a guardian of human heritage and gatekeeper of a collective visual memory.”