Joana Choumali

Holding Those Strings, 2019

Unique Artwork

Mixed media

50x 50cm
Mixed media, embroidery and collage manual on digital photo printing on cotton canvas embroidery on chiffon and tulle over cotton.
Unique work

CM H 50 W 50

IN H 19.7 W 19.7

Certificate of authenticity - Signed by artist

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About the work

Holding Those Strings, 2019

Using a mixed technique of collage, embroidery, quilting and photomontage, Choumali overlays gauzy panels of embroidery chiffon and tulle on collage cell-phone photographs of figures and cityscapes.

In the series Alba'hian - meaning 'the first light of the day' in the Agni language of the Akan group in Ivory Coast - the artist meditates on the cityscape during the time and processes of dawn.

Curator Maria Pia Bernadoni comments:

"The morning light has a symbolic value of rediscovery and illumination in almost every culture. It's the vital energy that is born again, renovated any new day - the hope of a new beginning. As the morning light slowly reveals each detail of the material world, so this practice of observation allows Choumali to assert a personal shift in thoughts and perceptions...Joana's work is made of the same substance memories and dreams are made of: impalpable and barely perceptible images that overlap one another, mixed with ancient suggestions and recent sensations."

About artist

Joana Choumali

Joana Choumali, born in 1974, is visual artist/photographer based in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. She studied graphic arts in Casablanca (Morocco) and worked as an art director in an advertising agency before embarking on her photography career. She works mainly on conceptual portraits, mixed media and documentary photography. Much of her work focuses on Africa, and what she, as an African, learns about the innumerable cultures around her. Her work allows her to explore the assumptions she has and nurtured her world views.

In her latest works, Joana embroiders directly on the images completing the act of creating the photograph image with a slow and meditative gesture. Her most recent works are unique obects enriched by her choice of textiles and sense of color.

Joana has exhibited her work at the Museum of Civilizations-Abidjan, the Donwahi Foundation for Contemporary Art-Abidjan, at the Rotonde des Arts Contemporary Art Center - Abidjan, at the Vitra Design Museum-Basel, at the Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden- Marrakech, at the Museum of photography -St Louis, Senegal, at the Tropen Musuem –Amsterdam at the International Photography Biennale of Bamako, at the Photoquai Biennale (Quai Branly Museum- Paris), at the Lagos Photo Festival, and PhotoVogue festival. In 2014, she won the CapPrize Award and the 2014 Emerging Photographer LensCulture Award. In 2016, she received the Magnum Emergency Grant Foundation, and the Fourthwall Books Award in South Africa.

In 2017, she exhibited her series "Translation" and "Adorn" at the Pavilion of the...

About Gallery

Gallery 1957

Gallery 1957 presents leading artists working across West Africa and the diaspora.

Launched by Marwan Zakhem on Ghana Independence Day, 2016, Gallery 1957 has since expanded across two gallery spaces within Accra, dedicating its programme to spearheading international exchanges between contemporary West African art practices and the rest of the world.

Presenting a programme of exhibitions, installations and performances by the region’s most significant artists, Gallery 1957 bridges the gap between local and international audiences. Beyond its roster of diverse artists and exhibitions, global gallery partnerships and the establishment of the artist residency programme have welcomed many international artists and arts professionals to Ghana, encouraging them to engage further with the country’s rich contemporary art scene.

Gallery 1957’s work expands beyond the gallery walls through a public programme that includes fairs, talks, off-site projects and site-specific installations commissions - continuously supporting cultural initiatives in Ghana, and beyond.

Gallery 1957
Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City & Galleria Mall
PMB 66 — Ministries
Gamel Abdul Nasser Avenue
Ridge — Accra
Ghana

Opening times:
Tuesday—Saturday
11am—7pm during exhibitions