Organic landscapes - La nuit #2, 2023

The textile works of Marie-Claire Messouma Manlanbien (1990, France) are worlds in themselves that are slowly revealed to the viewer. Amulets, shells, copper, wire and line drawings form a cosmic whole in which more and more details can be discovered. The amulets that Messouma Manlanbien cast from ceramic and attached to the textiles are inspired by the iconographic dja yobuè, metal stones from the Creole Akan culture in the form of coins.

Messouma Manlanbien sees herself as a storyteller with materials; she works with textiles, drawings, sculpture, photography, video and installation. In her works, she brings together different cultures by combining traditional crafts with more industrialised processes. By merging a variety of media, techniques and materials, ‘landscapes’ are created in which different stories meet and give rise to new forms. Both the matriarchal Creole Akan culture of her father, and the creative craft culture of her mother's and grandmother's Guadeloupe are major influences