Hélène Aziza presents the exhibition Objets inanimés avez-vous donc une âme ? with photographs by Dany Leriche and Jean Michel Fickinger around the release of the book « Sogobo, le peuple des marionnettes ».
Photographers Dany Leriche and Jean Michel Fickinger have been roaming Mali for years. They “stare” at what they see and beyond what they see.
Their meeting with Yaya Coulibaly, master of puppetry, led to the birth of the book “Sogobo, the people of puppets”.
“Yaya is the father and child of a crowd inhabited by stories, inhabited by the forces of nature and the spirit which gave birth to it. The smile and meditation to which the sculpted wooden figure invites are the soul of his magical talent.”
Mali is the country that saw the birth of the art of puppetry.
Yaya Coulibaly, one of the greatest living puppeteers, is the heir to a centuries-old tradition. He is one of the most brilliant representatives of African culture and traditions. For more than thirty years, Malian artist Yaya Coulibaly has caricatured African society and watches over more than 10,000 puppets, some of which date from the 16th century.
In Mali, mask and puppet theater, generally called sogobò, is common to the Bamana, Malinké and Bozo, whose history and culture have been closely linked for centuries. This theatrical art uses masks and puppets, of incredible formal and symbolic richness, within the framework of multidisciplinary events which combine theater, masquerade, dance, acrobatic art, music and singing. A living art, in constant evolution, the theater of masks and puppets is a mirror of society which reflects the identity of these three peoples as they conceive it and its representations are all highlights of social life which reinforce the peace and cohesion within society.
Poetic art par excellence, because it is based on illusion and suggestion, puppet theater is often associated with social and spiritual practices. It is a symbolic and effective way of mobilizing supernatural forces. In other contexts, it allows you to confront the authoritarianism of the power in place without appearing to touch it. But it is also a total art, requiring multiple skills: drawing, sculpture, sewing, music, dance, martial arts, dramaturgy and acting. As such, it constitutes an anthropological object whose study allows us to better understand the underside of a culture, of a society.
Exhibition
Objets inanimés avez-vous donc une âme ? Photographs by Dany Leriche and Jean Michel Fickinger around the release of the book “Sogobo, le peuple des marionnettes” at Hélène Aziza, 19 rue Paul Fort Paris 14 from November 26 to December 17 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
https://www.19paulfort.com/galerie/index.php/le-lieu/
Book
Sogobo, le peuple des marionnettes
https://www.transphotographic.com/produit/sogobo/
