The Blachère Residencies

As associate commissioner of this project Urban Africans had the honour to invite two artists for the artist in residence program of The Blachère Foundation in La Somone, Senegal.

Urban Africans invited Helen Zeru & Stacey Abe Gillian for a stay of two weeks in Senegal.

In these two weeks the artists created works that were presented at the Dak’Art OFF 2018 exhibition ‘The Blachère Residencies’ at the Atelier Céramiques Almadies, Dakar, Senegal.

Helen Zeru ‘Aesthetics of Shyness (II)’, 75cm x 215cm, ink, acrylic paint on paper, 2018
Helen Zeru (right) ‘Aesthetics of Shyness (II)’, 75cm x 215cm, ink, acrylic paint on paper, 2018
Helen Zeru ‘Aesthetics of Shyness (III)’, 75cm x 215cm, ink, acrylic paint on paper, 2018

Helen Zeru: “Aesthetic of shyness in a re-enactment of a ritual ceremony performed on me as a child against shyness. The first part of the work is a performance and a manual drawing recipe as the second part of the work. The manual materializes from interest in the idea of non-transmittable cultural forms taken as an art form to a gallery space”. 

Stacey Abe Gillian, ‘Strange Fruit La Somone’ (small installation 184cm x 46cm x 50cm) & (big installation 283cm x 72cm x 68cm), recycled glass bottles, binding wires, chain and metal, 2018
Opening Dak’Art OFF 2018 exhibition ‘The Blachère Residencies’ at the Atelier Céramiques Almadies, Dakar, Senegal.
Stacey Abe Gillian and her ‘Strange Fruits’, 2018

Catalogue Blachère Residencies Dak’Art OFF 2018: page 10 – 17 about Stacey Abe Gillian & Helen Zeru.