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  • Fofana

Aboubakar Fofana

Friday, September 06, 2024

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Fine Arts 015
1201 East Seventh St.
Bloomington, IN 47405
Aboubakar Fofana Jacqueline Mitelman

Born in Mali and raised in France, Aboubakar Fofana is a multidisciplinary artist and designer whose working mediums include calligraphy, textiles, and natural dyes. He is known for his work in reinvigorating and redefining West African indigo dyeing techniques, and much of his focus is devoted to the preservation and reinterpretation of traditional West African textile and natural dyeing techniques and materials.

Fofana’s work stems from a profound spiritual belief that nature is divine and that through respecting this divinity we can understand the immense and sacred universe. His raw materials come from the natural world, and his working practice revolves around the cycles of nature, the themes of birth, decay and change, and the impermanence of these materials. He sees the conception and realization of this work as a form of spiritual practice, which is shared with his audience.

Aboubakar Fofana, Mud Dye.     Francois Goudier 

Fofana is currently deeply involved in creating a farm in conjunction with the local community in the district of Siby, Mali, in which the two types of indigenous West African indigo will be the centerpiece for a permaculture model based around local food, medicine and dye plants. This project hopes to contribute to the rebirth of fermented indigo dyeing in Mali and beyond and represents his life’s greatest project to date.

Over the last 25 years, Fofana has exhibited his work in solo shows in France, Switzerland, Luxembourg, UK, Mali, Guinea, Morocco, Mexico, and Japan. His work has also been shown in group shows in India, US, South Africa, Italy, Greece, and beyond. Fofana has been a guest professor at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, taught many workshops around the world, produced collections for New York Fashion Week, and collaborated with interior designers.

Aboubakar Fofana with Indigo cloth. Francois Goudier
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