Wednesday, 25
Interview with Ms. Salimata DIOP, Artistic Director of the 15th Dakar Biennale
part 2
In terms of positioning, where can we classify Dakar in the field of visual arts after more than 30 years of existence?
I believe that the Dakar Biennale has a very special history. It is a biennial that since long has left the age of reason and adulthood behind and that has undergone a great evolution. I believe that each edition and each artistic direction marks it and pushes it even further. I think that it is also inextricably linked to the dynamism and richness of the cultural scene and creativity that we are fortunate to have in Dakar and Senegal. I believe that it is now in the wake of its history of the Senghor era and Senegal's Festivals and that it ultimately needs a new definition, a new identity, without forgetting its DNA, but which ultimately evolves with each edition. I believe that it is a biennial that is attracting an increasingly large and diverse audience, and that it is now included in the circle of the most important art events in the world, since it has the particularity of being a biennial dedicated to the creativity of the African diaspora. It also includes Afro-descendants, since this year we also have artists from countries such as Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and so on. I believe that this biennial is actually also part of the evolution of the Dakar scene, with all these dynamic galleries that have emerged recently, with their cultural centers, with all these links of the scene that put Dakar on the map of the great cultural cities of the continent. I think that Senegal is not the only country that is aware of the creative potential and the importance of culture in the development of the country and its influence, and that rightly considers it as something essential. And that in this we can count on other countries such as Benin or Ivory Coast, which have also experienced some great developments in this area. So I would say we should not rest on our laurels, but continue to work together and move in the direction of giving priority to the field of culture and for the Dakar Biennale to continue to be one of its beacons.
Among the new features of this 15th edition is "The Great Witness" can you tell us a little more about it?
I think that the tradition of the Great Witness has brought something very special for some editions of the Dakar Biennale, because it honors an artist who is ultimately invited to participate not only for the work he does but also to bring a particularly recognized profile to the biennial. To add to this influence and the quality of what is offered and I think that it is important because it is something that can also firstly show the public, the public in general, that it is an event of this magnitude and which can also inspire young artists who suddenly have the opportunity to discover the work of an artist who already has a great career behind him.
This year we have the honour of welcoming Wangechi Mutu, a Kenyan artist who lives and works between Nairobi and New York and who has exhibited all over the world, who is extremely well-known and whom I welcome as a great witness. I am very touched by her participation because I think that I see in her participation a great respect for this event and I believe she is aware of what her presence brings. I'm also particularly touched by her approach because instead of bringing a few works, which would have been wonderful as well, Wangechi had a very specific approach. Before she proposed a project, before we even discussed the project she was going to propose, she was primarily interested in the history of the Dakar Biennale. She was very interested in the history of the place where she was going to exhibit, which is the Ancien Palais de Justice and the Supreme Court in particular. We had discussions about, for example, the big trials that took place there, and she really had an approach where she wanted to understand the context in a pretty precise way in order to propose something new and absolutely relevant. So not only do we have the chance to welcome Wangechi Mutu, but we also have the chance to offer the public a completely new installation that she will have produced on a large scale. It occupies all the rooms of the Supreme Court, a multimedia installation with multiple media installation, sculpture, video, and I think it is a large-scale project that she is offering us. We are extremely lucky to have it.
A few months before the opening of the 15th edition, what message do you have to make the public want to visit the Biennale?
I'm going to be a little mischievous because I like the idea of the public being surprised. So it's difficult to want to talk about this project that is close to our hearts and that we are working on a lot, but it's also tempting to not say anything and let people discover the place. I think what I can say is that the public will be surprised. I think that's at least what we can say, and I think I'm speaking not only to an audience that doesn't yet know the place, but also to an audience that already knows the place and that is used to coming to this biennal and that has already seen editions in this former courthouse. I think we have managed to transform this space. We are definitely trying to make the artists inhabit this space, and more than inhabit it, actually appropriate it and invade it and transform it with their works. The aim of this curatorial project is that the visitors arrive in another universe to really let them be carried away by a reflection of the artists' projects within the curatorial project, by going to the scenography quite immersive whether visually or by sound means and by all that the programming will add around the works to pass from one universe to another and to make a great journey so all I hope is that we can come out transformed.
since my french is not that strong, i have taken the trouble to translate the interview to understand it properly and prepare myself for the visit. i hope it is roughly equivalent to the french version, which is only available as a video spoken in french.
Interview with Ms. Salimata DIOP, Artistic Director of the 15th Dakar Biennale
part 1
What are the main points of this artistice project?
It is a project based on a term in the English language that has several meanings. "The Wake" can be translated (le sillage) as the wake of a boat, the backflow, or the (l'éveil or réveil) awaking, but also (veillée) as a vigil, as in a funeral vigil, for example.
At the beginning there were two intentions. It was about playing with the essence of this word to talk about how we face our future, our future after the crisis we have entered, and linked to this, how we face our past, our history, our colonial history, all these effects that this crisis has had as a whole, as well as this pandemic from which we are emerging. There is a narrative, that of the work, that of immersion in the work, that is what I call when we have a first encounter with the work. This is an emotion, an emotional entry into a work where we can ask ourselves where it comes from. What was the inspiration, the practice, the reflection of the artist, how did he work his material. What I also see in the wake of the work is what it will ultimately leave us, what the visitor will take with it. This impact that the work can have on mentalities. This thread is mainly visual, but it will also be acoustic and so it will also be a musical thread in this curatorial approach that I have chosen for this edition.
The 15th Dakar Biennale has been postponed. What are the implications of this delay?
The postponement of this edition came quite late. In our work process we were completely focused on the original deadline, which means that we had to give birth to a first project in a first time. It enters this space by resonating in the delay. We walk in what I call a haunted palace, with a scenography and a project that was already well implemented but could not be completed.
After this decision and this context, we arrive in an unexpected time, where we now enter a second phase of continuity. Of course, we remain anchored in all this work that has already been done, but I believe that the key word will be deepening. It is an edition that we have already launched in a time context that was quite complicated and short, and I think we will take all the positives of this unfortunate postponement to push our project even further. We will be able to bring out ideas that we did not have time to develop, and that will be the case, for example, in connection with the public. What is particularly important for us is an audio guide in three languages, in English, French and Wolof, to give the public even more voices so that they can immerse themselves in the project and the works in different ways. There will be pure discoveries, some visual elements when walking through the exhibition, there will be approaches through the texts of the exhibition catalogue, and there will be this audio guide that takes on an even different tone. We will deepen all aspects to be even more radical and to exert even more influence at all levels of the project.
What assurances do you give to those who ask questions?
Our curatorial and artistic team never had any doubt that this project would ultimately be realized. We are focused on our work, on our mission. We are waiting impatiently for the public to discover it. And finally, I think that this delay has perhaps allowed two things to be said about the feedback that I have been able to receive. First, to see a city like Dakar capable of offering a rich and dynamic cultural and artistic scene, with or without a Biennale. Second, that the project that will open its doors to the public on November 7th will be even more advanced and more impactful than it could have been in May after 7 months of work.
Under the gaze of visual artists, the contemporary ecological crisis will be on canvas for the 2024 Biennale. What are the challenges and perspectives that are emerging in particular for Africa and Senegal?
The theme of this edition and the context in which it is placed today in 2024 is, for me, necessarily situated in this context of the ecological crisis, which is a main axis of the theme, but it is a main axis of the theme in response to the context and also in response to themes taken up by the contemporary artists. There are themes that are addressed in all the exhibitions and especially in the international exhibitions. Here are works by Sydney Regis and several artists from different countries of the diaspora or different African countries. It is ultimately a way of approaching the current events not only of our time, but also of making a connection between the ecological crisis and everything that is ultimately linked to it and what is the cause or consequence. We are approaching the question of the need for a transformation that is perhaps already underway and that will inevitably be social and economic, social and individual. Not to isolate the environmental theme, but to see the future as the maximum and as part of this tapestry that all these artists will ultimately weave over our time.
Sunday, 22
sometimes i don't know where i actually belong anymore. although i have lived in gambia for eight years and here in the tintintohouse for five years, i feel less rooted than at arrival and somehow the longer i live, the more uprooted i become. apart from my partner, i don't have many close relationships with consequences. nothing really matters, nothing has come of it. (my excuses to those where there is something) therefore, all other communication that goes beyond small talk takes place over long distances via the internet.
i do refresh contacts with my annual trips, but over the years they fade - except for those in hamburg, which have only been happening now and again for a long time anyway. we are used to sporadic meetings - there.
on my last trip, i realized that although i lived in basel for more than three decades i no longer belong there in the same way i once did. it is a gradual process of detachment that also took place with hamburg at the time.
indeed, i don't belong anywhere completely, only in percentage terms, here and there. i am absolutely fine with that. part of it is in Dakar. the trip is booked.
THE WAKE
Awakening, Xàll wi.
In an immersive journey, carried by an intimate, powerful and serious scenography, visitors will discover the works of 58 artists from Africa and the diaspora. The artistic selection of this edition illustrates the extraordinary African creativity with a variety of mediums, techniques and artistic worlds. From illustration art to virtual reality, from sound design to sculpture and photography, the selection process was guided by a commitment to inclusion, in search of a balance that transcends the boundaries of matter, expression and thought.
Wednesday, 18
the relaxed feeling i felt during the trip has already disappeared. the monotony of country life has already worn me out again. i move heavy-footed through the house and garden. it's hot, the humidity is uncomfortably high. my clothes stick to my body, invisible insects make my skin itchy. my image drags along, just like i do myself. there is no café nearby that gives me hope. only when the day is drawing to a close do i feel cheerful. that day would be done.
Tuesday, 17
yeah, yesterday was a holiday, as we found out from a morning call by a family member - Mohammed's birthday.
we enjoyed a barbecue on the roof terrace. i can't sit for hours and not talk, even when music is playing, i like to talk to the person i'm hanging out with and bring up topics that have been on my mind for a while. as is often the case when i don't just talk about the weather or other rather general topics, but try to question a certain situation, i encounter resistance. mostly incomprehensible to me. why does he feel personally attacked? whatever the case, a calm conversation is no longer an option at that very moment. this time it was about our isolation and the loneliness that comes with it. i wanted to find out if there is a way to change that. calling things by their name, describing them, is often an infringement. it's not necessary to talk about it. let's just leave it at quiet small talk.
since my tongue loosens up in this kind of party mood, spurred on by a few glasses of red wine, i don't stop and say what i have to say. i was disappointed that we couldn't have the conversation i had imagined, to find a solution, so to speak, to get out of our isolation. i tell him that the isolation affects me more than him. he meets people, can speak several local languages. so it was something that concerns me. well, one thing led to another. i explained myself in the detail that he is used to from me. whether we found people with whom we could develop projects together. with whom we could find out together what really makes sense to do.
my night was overshadowed by worries that i had said the wrong things, that i had possibly hurt him. at breakfast i told him that i hoped i hadn't hurt him or even put him under pressure, that i had stressed him out. i remember saying that the evening before as well when i sensed that he was stressed. never would it be my intention to disturb him at the pace he likes to live at. i am just trying to create a kind of connection that lies beneath the surface and intensifies our living together. he acknowledged what i said, at least a hint of nodding. he thanked me for breakfast.
then i remembered that the dakar biennale had been postponed until november due to political unrest. that would be an opportunity to get out of here and get in touch with artists.
we haven't spoken yet (3:30 p.m.). as is usually the case in moments of disagreement, he disappears somewhere. but that doesn't bother me anymore. let grass grow over it and then act as if nothing had happened.. this is how we deal with such situations. anyway, i registered us. let's see if the registration is accepted.
Monday, 16
my trip to hamburg and basel inspired me so much that i resolved to become more active in the arts. i used to be in the studio mainly for research and website updates, for contemplation and reflection.
at the open studios in basel end of last month i exhibited two old works before 1/afrique and before 2/babylon, the first attempts, after my stay in johannesburg in 2002, to free myself through drawing, and not filed in folders as before, but hung on the wall. my painting the sound of the casuarina, which was displayed last year, followed the style of immediate inspiration realized on an a4 sheet.
however, i have decided to try enlarging photos again (the last time i did this, roofs n walls, was nine years ago. in fact, i had refused to continue working in this manner. i felt too constrained by the system of images rasterized in A4 sheets, the hanging too complicated. and hoped to find a new form for myself - what never happened. i insisted that i would not produce anything just for the sake of producing). the weekend before last i prepared a nail wall that can cover a maximum of 105 pieces, in case i either want to hang one of my older works or aim for this dimension at some point, which is likely not to happen.
anyway, you never know, but i almost lose my temper when sharpening the coloured pencils and then they break again. the studio already smells of crayons and i'm not sure if i really need this. i am also limited in the color selection of the pencils using those i still have from that time. purchasing custom colours is not possible in gambia, which is perhaps a stroke of luck for me, as i don't have to stick so closely to the template and allow myself to be more playful in the implementation.
this all sounds almost like a comeback, but i somehow felt the urge to express myself through the arts.
Sunday, 15
it feels like i've forgotten how to write. i mean, how to express myself by writing. am i still allowed to do that, i ask myself. i'm not a writer, no bachelor's, no master's, no doctorate. maybe people judge me for meaninglessness. probably this diary doesn't make sense by writers' standards. every author has a certain style in the use of their words, a particular rhythm in syntax, a special grammar, great stories to tell, a large work that must be carefully planned. in fact, i don't think i'm an author - what a big word.
i know i often talk about not caring what people think. but sometimes i do care. (remember that german woman - i think the german is important to mention here because we had the conversation in german - once told me i write like a child, or did she mean my speaking? i don't remember, but it worried me that she was pigeonholing me) actually, for me writing and speaking are not so far apart. the more i talk, the less i feel the need to write. everything i want to say has already been said. but then the desire keeps coming back to write down the flood of thoughts, to fix them, to work on them until i have achieved something that i can leave as it is and, in a sense, immortalize on the internet.
a friend of MALOLA, or more precisely Christian's partner, Christiane Reiser, recently published a volume of poetry, Herbstblumenkinder. beautiful poems that i enjoyed reading. publishing a book is something different from the immediate blogging that i am used to. it has a different substance or quality. writing on the internet is a less powerful statement than the book, which is a physical object. it is a long journey until you can hold it in your hands. but then it is there, readable with or without power supply, no wifi, no server.
once when i was developing a slide show for an exhibition - "Boundaries...", which was not implemented, i added some texts from the diary to be played parallel to the photos. it was an act of selecting and organizing the diary entries. i enjoyed doing that. it gave my writing an importance of something that needed to be written on the wall. but i have no interest in editing a book of diary entries. why a book when the texts are already accessible - a waste of material. yeah, her poetry book made me think and brought me to this conclusion.
Christiane Reiser Herbstblumenkinder, 2024 Karin Fischer Verlag GmbH
Friday, 13
Good news. Malola's single Lechz has been remastered.
Please read the beautiful article written by the Revibed Team
Lechz – Born Under Bad Signs: An interview with artistic duo Malola
and listen to the sound.
Wednesday, 11
The diary is sleeping. Don't give up. It will be back soon.
Friday, 6
Art Space Work of the Month
Gisela Röhn (1921-92) Wenn aus der Ferne da wir geschieden sind. Friedrich Hölderlin
(if from a distance since we are divorced. Friedrich Hölderlin)
etching, 1981, 33,7 x 38,3 cm