The exhibition “Mbàmbulaan Gu Ñuul Laa”, which has been held since April 17 at the Galerie Le Manège of the French Institute in Dakar, was closed on Tuesday, at the end of an artistic journey where the ocean becomes a place of memory, transmission and reconnection between Africa and its diasporas.
The exhibition curated by Beya Gille Gacha, Salimata Diop and Ken Aïcha Sy, brought together Shai Andrade, Chris Tigra, Bienvenue Fotso, Amy Célestina Ndione, Saly D, Asta Niang, Marième Ngom, Anique Jordan, Poundo Gomis, Johanna Makabi, Anta Germaine Gaye and Yaay Hawa Fall.
The press visit organized on Tuesday, a few hours before closing time, allowed the curators to revisit the philosophy of a project built around an artistic residency organized in March on the island of Ngor, before the opening of the exhibition.
Through installations, videos, sculptures, photographs, textile works, performances and sound creations, the twelve artists gathered here explore the memories of the Atlantic Slave Trade, the legacies of Black people, care practices and the spiritual links that unite communities on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
The exhibition first immerses visitors in a world where water plays a central role. Sometimes calm, sometimes turbulent, it appears in the works as a living entity, bearing memories, wounds, but also hope. The ocean is no longer a border separating peoples, but a space for the circulation of memories, cultures, and imaginations.
The works presented evoke both the forced journeys of history and the possibilities of reconstruction, by mixing organic materials, archival images, personal narratives, ritual objects and contemporary creations.
For the curator of the Dakar leg, Ken Aïcha Sy, this exhibition was born from a desire to create a dialogue between artistic practices and research and immersion work in the Senegalese territory.
“We wanted to make this exhibition an experience rather than a simple display. It is an extension of a creative residency in Ngor where the artists shared a time of research, production and reflection before presenting their works,” she explained.
According to Ken Aïcha Sy, the project is not limited to the gallery walls. Part of the exhibition has also been extended to the “Au Quatre Vents” bookstore in Mermoz, inviting visitors to continue their exploration in a space dedicated to artistic research and publications.
“Water does not separate us, it connects us.”
Co-initiator of the project with Salimata Diop, the Franco-Cameroonian artist Beya Gille Gacha indicated that this adventure originated from a residency carried out in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, where she wished to rethink artistic creation from the perspective of care, listening and African spiritualities.
“The project is first and foremost a residency before it is an exhibition. We wanted to offer artists, especially Black women, a space to create, but also to take care of themselves,” she said.
According to her, the works on display are not conceived as mere artistic objects, but as spaces for dialogue between beings, memories and invisible dimensions.
“We don’t just do exhibitions. We build meeting places where the works become mediators,” she stated.
Beya Gille Gacha explained that the choice of water as a guiding thread came naturally given its symbolic power.
“Water does not separate us, it connects us. It preserves memories, accompanies journeys and reminds us that we share a common history,” she stressed.
She believes that the passage from Salvador de Bahia to Dakar is part of a process of reconnecting between African and Afro-descendant communities, while promoting dialogue with local traditions, particularly those linked to the Lebou people and their relationship to the sea.
