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Bamako Biennale, 12th edition
2 minThis year the Bamako Meetings celebrate their 25th anniversary and 12th edition, focused on the theme “Streams of Consciousness”. Overview of the event taking place in Mali through 31st January 2020.
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2/12Untitled, by Emmanuelle Andrianjafy
From Madagascar to Dakar, Emmanuelle Andrianjafy’s camera is the primary tool with which she orients herself in a new environment. Her photo series Nothing’s in Vain presents a narrative, informed by her own experiences, about belonging and connection in the urban environment. Her photographs capture her impressions and her thoughts, telling the story of the city through urban realities, migration and labour movements.
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3/12Poolside Boy, by Fanyana Hlabangane
The work of the South African artist exposes a certain side of Johannesburg, revealed through the soul of its inhabitants. Often at odds with their surroundings, the characters captured by Fanyana Hlabangane's lens highlight the unique way this city crushes everyone's sense of belonging, destroying their hopes and dreams.
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4/12Long Road, by Andrew Tshabangu
Andrew Tshabangu’s project bears witness to contemporary life on the island of La Réunion through its population, primarily its young people, and also through religion, work, public transport, etc. This series of photographs expands the artist’s practice, already focused on an appreciation for the simple things and life's everyday movements, and always in black and white.
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5/12Love Story, d’Adama Jalloh
Adama Jalloh was born in Britain to parents from Sierra Leon. His project came into being as a vital tool for defining his own identity, split up until that point between the two countries to which he belongs. Love Story highlights the unique nature of the African diasporas in London, photographing these people as they go about their daily lives. The photographer seeks to bring an authenticity to mundane scenes and thus present a narrative about these communities.
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6/12Angela Davis at the Keskidee Centre, by Armet Francis
For many years, Armet Francis’s work has focused on the history of black people and Africa, not from a documentary point of view but from a more removed, dramatic perspective. By focusing more on the historical moment than on the identity of the people photographed, the artist gives the impression that his photographs are taken from a fairy tale.
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7/12#I (Tshepang Dumelakgosi), by Jodi Bieber
In the post-apartheid era, Jodi Bieber's snapshots give a voice to South Africa's younger generation. These young people come from different social and economic backgrounds and present their country's challenges in their own ways. Each piece in this project gives a voice to an individual, who has chosen a word and a quote.
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8/12Shaabi Beaches, by Roger Anis
For Roger Anis, the beach is the perfect place to learn more about a country. Shaabi Beaches takes us into the heart of Egyptian society through the photographer's lens. His photos bear witness to the popularity of beaches among Egyptians, 9 years after the revolution.
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9/12Tenir (Anyway), by Fototala King Massassy
A true ode to ‘Africanness’ as a global concept, Tenir by Fototala King Massassy takes up the symbols of the struggles fought in the United States and around the world for Black emancipation. Keen to present this through a strong image, he captured fists decked out in lucky rings, each of which gives weight to their bearer's resistance.
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10/12Air Twelve Land, by Khalil Nemmaoui
The Renault 12 is the central element of Khalil Nemmaoui’s project. Staging it in different surroundings, the artist plays with the geometric shapes of the vehicle and the arid, irregular landscapes of Morocco. The project aims to examine the intersection between technology, nature, architecture and mechanics.
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11/12Scènes de vie, d’Amsatou Diallo
Using digital collages, Amsatou Diallo offers a reflection on the complexity of African identities in the face of globalisation. By superimposing everyday scenes from African cultures over photographs of urban environments in North Carolina, USA, the artist creates, within the image, a utopian multicultural space-time dimension.
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The Institut français and the project
Created in 1994, the Rencontres de Bamako are organised by the Ministery of culture of Mali and supported by the Institut français.
Also read Igo Diarra and Bonaventure Soh Bejeng interview. They are respectively deputy general and artistic commissioner for the Bamalko Biennale