Maïmouna Guerresi

Exciting days are opening up in Dakar: not only the 11th Biennale, Dak'Art opening today but also an OFF section with events and exhibitions.

My thoughts and best wishes are going to Maïmouna Patrizia Guerresi presenting a solo exhibition "M.eating" at the Ancienne Biscuiterie de Médina, conceived by Alessia Montani for M'AMA.ART and Arthemisia Group (vernissage tomorrow the 10th of May at 7.30pm).

Maïmouna Guerresi, M-Eating, Red Table, 2013

The title is playing with the two verbs 'to meet' and 'to eat'. In fact her series of photographs are wondering about the importance of coming together while sharing a meal at the table.

There is a sacred feeling in Maïmouna's meticulous compositions, time looks suspended and her 'characters' (African men, women and children) in the photographs, are isolated from the context. There is no communication between them, each one looks absorbed within his/her own universe. It makes me feel they are praying, communicating at a different level. Some of her characters are also facing the wall, like there is also no communication with the viewer.

Together with three polyptychs, the artist will present a site specific installation, Rubber Tires and a video, Zudh 53.

I met Maïmouna last October at 1:54, the 1st African Art Fair in London. I had a really lovely chat with her. I am completely enchanted by her work that I saw closely during Africa See you see me exhibition and Road of Contemporary Art Fair (both held in Rome).

 

The first time I saw one of her "Giants", I completely surrendered to the power of the image, my body was lifted up together with the man in the picture. He wasn't looking at me but he was holding me with his secret message.

 

The artist's life is quite hectic, filled with works and exhibitions all over the world.
Not long ago she was in Dubai for Art Dubai (18-22 March 2014). Her work has been presented by Tasveer, a contemporary photography gallery from Bangalore (India).

images taken from the artist's website

images taken from the artist's website

 

Maïmouna also presented her work with an exhibition entitled Concava at the Gallery of modern and contemporary art in Rimini. Concava, curated by Veronika Aguglia, was including photos and installations.

images courtesy of the artist

About the artist (from her website). 

Perspective on the relationship between women and society, with particular reference to those countries in which the role of women is most marginalized. For over twenty years Guerresi’s work has been about empowering women and bringing together individuals and cultures in an appreciation for a context of shared humanity, beyond borders – psychological, cultural, and political. She uses recurrent metaphors such as milk, light, the hijab, trees, and contrasting white on black to create awareness of the vital unifying qualities of the feminine archetype and its special healing potential. Guerresi’s art is uniquely authentic. Her work is inspired by personal experience and cultural contexts that reference universal myths, the sacred realm, and the female condition, all of which are seen as vital expressions of the human form: an essentially spiritual and mystic body. Through photographs and videos of silent, austere, veiled women in domestic scenes and individual poses, her work functions as both metaphor and provocation. Guerresi’s images are delicate narratives with fluid sequencing, as well as rational analyses: women dressed in white, enveloped in chadors, fixed within their own tradition and isolated from and by it in the contemporary world. Her Fatimah image suggests the woman as Mother-Earth supporting us in the original energy cycle of Space-Universe-Infinity.