Paris, 30 July 2012
From 10 October 2012 to 14 July 2013, the Dapper Museum will be displaying “Design in Africa, Sitting, lying down and dreaming”, an exhibition dedicated to objects supporting the body.
Displaying seats, beds, armchairs, headrests used on a daily basis or during ceremonies in Sub-Saharan Africa, the museum aims at shedding light on the creativity of designers producing these objects dialoguing with cultures.
The Asante, in Ghana, say that “there is no secret between a man and his seat”. Even today, the attribution of a sculpted wooden seat confirms the status of leader while objects made of light wood serve as pillows in societies living in Sub-Saharan Africa. Numerous contemporary artists, including Christian Ndong Menzamet, Antonio Pépin, Vincent Niamien, Kossi Assou, Nicolas Sawalo Cissé, Iviart Izamba, Issa Diabaté, Alassane Drabo, Cheick Diallo, and Balthazar Faye, choose to revisit daily life in African societies while taking into account the requests from the modern world.
A catalogue questioning the issues of a creativity confronted with the demands of an industrialised world will be made available.
The Dapper Museum will also be offering a special programming including meetings and screenings around the exhibition.