Aboubakar Fofana

In West Africa, trees are like ancestors. With long lifespans, they bear witness and hold secrets for the communities around them. Fofana’s work is about the reverence we have for trees – their power, presence, and wisdom – and about the alchemy of indigo. Held in the leaves of the indigo plant is a blue pigment that can only be made visible under certain conditions. The magic of how green leaves can make so many shades of blue is a tangible example of how plants nourish us on many levels, not just providing food and shelter, but even clothing us in their fibers and colors, linking us spiritually with the natural world.

Aboubakar Fofana was born in Mali, in 1967. He lives and works in Paris and Bamako. He is an artist, textile designer, and calligrapher. He has previously exhibited at documenta 14 (Athens and Kassel), Manchester Art Gallery (UK) and at the National Museum of Mali (Bamako).