Nandi Makala
“Mars”
Print, Original drawing, posca, acrylic, collage photo
26 x 18
2020
Bio:
Nandi Makala creates colorful bodies of work that emmesh various approaches to textile, among them embroidery, stitching, and crochet. She imbues them with a collection of found materials: leather, metal, wool, clothing, plastic... Her production techniques, acquired during her studies, are reappropriated to bring to light a specific cultural history.This is history takes root in Congo, birthplace of “the father”.Though her work is interdisciplinary, it is centered around an interest in cultural history, in origins. She explores the dichotomy between the hidden and the revealed: in relation to her identity, to her roots, her footprints, her memory. Nandi has created her own mythology, made of masks and costumes that question the weight of tradition on present generations. She has created a series of tapestries evoking the masks of the Baoulé people of Cote D’Ivoire. These masks were worn by men (among them her own grandfather) during ceremonies meant to attract bountifulness. She takes inspiration from the colors and materials inherent to these countries and transforms them within her own practice. Her work centres both a deep love for her ancestry and a more critical perspective on the survival of memory post-colonialism. My abstract work is is my representation with our connection with the above et our divine nature. My wish is to work on the universal sacred feminine. To represent in my own way the feminine energy that connects us all and to pass through my creations a feeling of taking back our inner power, but especially to share and reconnect with our light. My work is mainly abstract, I'm inspired by the stars, the cosmos, the female body. My paintings or textile art I want them to feel by the material, color and light, so I use a lot of gold thread, gold leaf and gold paint. My paintings evoke resilience, and demonstrate that even if they are damaged, tainted, once the canvas is unfolded the result can be harmonious, beautiful, magic and the new imprint left can reveal the strength and the beauty of which could have been destroyed.
Nandi Makala is 26 years old, and graduated from l’École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux arts d’Angers with a degree in textile art and tapestry, and also possesses a degree in interior decoration from Lisaa Mode Paris.