This is also how the artist feels about Tangier—which is currently going through yet another reinvention. A massive new port about 20 miles east of the city is operational, and King Mohammed VI has established a free-trade zone. Signs of investment and growth are everywhere—even if unemployment also continues to rise. “Its amazing how much construction is going on,” says Barrada, lighting another cigarette. “I remember when there used to be nothing but green fields from the city to the airport.”

The razing of fields has inspired Barrada to pick up her camera again and set to work on a new project she calls Iris Tingitana. “It’s the iris of Tangier,” she explains. “A now endangered species that grows in January. Sheep eat it, people walk on it, and it’s found on every construction site. For me it was an interesting place to start.” Part one of the series was shown at last year’s Venice Biennale and as a solo show at the Galerie Polaris in Paris. A more evolved version will be part of an exhibition called “Of People and Places” on view at the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Gallery until December 14 this year. “My latest work is about botanical changes in Tangier,” she says. “They’re getting rid of indigenous species and biodiversity. And for what? To plant palm trees because they are a symbol of exoticism. It’s the same with the women from the Rif Mountains selling cheese and vegetables at the weekly market. The government is pushing them out of the city. They want to build malls instead.”

At the moment Barrada’s other big obsession is an old tobacco factory on the bay that was built in the 1950s. “Every month I’m trying to rescue a building,” she says, laughing. But she’s not really joking. “It’s an incredibly beautiful place for an art school.” She smiles, rubbing her hands together with glee. "Tangerine Dream" originally appeared in the Fall 2008 issue of Culture+Travel. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Culture+Travel's Fall 2008 Table of Contents.