Ibrahim MAHAMA SOSSG - 2016 Charcoal bags... Lot 39

Ibrahim MAHAMA SOSSG - 2016 Charcoal bags with markings and fabric 225 × 320 cm Coal sacks with marking and cloth 88.58 × 125.98 in. H : 225.0 cm, W : 320.0 cm Provenance : Acquired directly from the artist by the previous owner Online sale Sotheby's, London, "Modern & Contemporary African Art sale" N°L21801, March 24-31, 2021, lot n°44 Africa First Collection Ibrahim MAHAMA H : 225.0 cm, W : 320.0 cm Quote: (À propos des toiles de jutes) They thus become "skins with scarifications that betray their socio-political and economic heritage" - Interview by Marc Pottier published on March 24, 2021 on the Singulars website. Born in 1987 in Tamale, Ghana, Ibrahim Mahama is an internationally recognized artist, notably for his monumental burlap installations such as Out of Bound, presented at the Venice Biennale in 2014. The artist takes a close interest in common materials, whose flows and constants enable him to examine the politics of migration and globalization. In so doing, he sheds light on the processes of exchange and production that govern and are sovereign in the everyday life of contemporary societies. The piece we present, entitled SOSSG, is based on the artist's favorite materials. These burlap bags, manufactured in South-East Asia, are imported en masse by Ghana for the transit of cocoa beans. After this initial use, the bags are reused to transport rice, seeds and, at the end of their "life", coal. Marked by their various uses and owners, these bags represent the hands that handled them, the silent work of the workers. Variations in texture, color and wear tell us the unique stories and trajectories of each of them. By assembling all these remnants of our daily lives, Mahama suggests that every human imprint left is intentional, and invites us to observe the poetry of uniqueness in multitude. Through this process and this repetition, sometimes organized on monumental scales, Ibrahim Mahama highlights memory "strata" and the delicate way in which objects contain our personal and collective memory. Born in 1987 in Tamale, Ghana, Ibrahim Mahama is an internationally recognized artist, notably for his monumental burlap installations such as Out of Bound, presented at the Venice Biennale in 2014. The artist takes a keen interest in common materials, whose flows and constants enable him to examine the politics of migration and globalization. In so doing, he sheds light on the processes of exchange and production that govern and are sovereign in the everyday life of contemporary societies. The piece we present, entitled "SOSSG", is based on the artist's preferred materials. These burlap bags, manufactured in South-East Asia, are imported en masse by Ghana for the transit of cocoa beans. After this initial use, the bags are reused to transport rice, seeds, and, at the end of their "life", coal. Marked by their various uses and owners, these bags represent the hands that have handled them, the silent labor of the workers. The variations in texture, color, and wear tell us the unique stories and trajectories of each of them. By assembling all these remnants of our daily lives, Mahama suggests that every human imprint left is intentional and invites us to observe the poetry of uniqueness in multitude. Through this process and this repetition, sometimes organized on monumental scales, Ibrahim Mahama highlights the "layers" of memory and the delicate way in which objects contain our personal and collective memory.