Cult Customs & Migration Rituals

Interview with Mohamad Abdouni on Cult Customs & Migration Rituals for Issue 07

How did your story come about?
The idea for it came out of these ludicrous conversations I’d find myself having with a very good
friend of mine who grew up in a neighboring town to mine. We’d muse over the lives and rituals
of this cult that we had imagined must’ve been lurking in the valleys of Bekaa during the time we
were children, sometime in the early nineties.

Do you have a fun anecdote or story to share from your time shooting this?
Most of the images were fabricated using old family archives that we manipulated with the help
of artificial intelligence, but what was crazy was how perfectly some of these real archives fit
within the whole story without having to manipulate them at all.

What can you tell me about Unemployed Magazine?
The first time I stumbled upon a copy of Unemployed, which I think was the second issue, I
remember I turned to the person I was with and said “I miss publishing whatever the fuck I
wanted”.

What else have you been up to lately? What’s next?
Two solo shows lined up for the later part of the year in Paris and in Beirut.

Can you describe your creative process?
Every project, every thought, every idea is predetermined by a record. Everything starts with an
album I choose to listen to as I work.

What have you been listening to lately?
Sary Moussa’s ‘Imbalance’

If you were a cocktail what would you be?
A Sake Martini (Michelle’s) or a mean tequilla sour according to some.

What advice would you give to your Unemployed self?
Live by the beach. You don’t need much if you live by the beach.