Paper short abstract:

My presentation will articulate itself around a series of mudcloth, that is part of the interactions and research during my project 'Mudcloth and the making of social and artistic fabric' in which we research, document, expose and stimulate the making process of mudcloth.

Paper long abstract:

My paper will be based on my actual project 'Mudcloth and the making of social and artistic fabric. The interrelation between ritual, artistic and collective textile making, departing from a Senufo context (Burkina Faso, Mali).

This project is focused on the relation between textile and ritual practices, artistic innovation and social cohesion. The making of fèrègèfani mudcloth is a process that requires different makers, with different skills and social roles, and during its ritual and festive use it engages different social groups. The making and wearing of fèrègèfani is not only the expression of a social collaboration, it creates social cohesion through the manipulations and specific features of the materials and techniques involved.

Guided by an interdisciplinary method, we combine the perspectives of art historical and anthropological research with an artistic approach through a makers perspective. This includes documenting making processes and exploring different forms of audiovisual co-creation. Partners are het Senufo Centre Rénée Fournier, a museum/study center in Burkina Faso, the Malinese multimedia artist Tiécoura N'Daou, and LUCA School of Arts from Belgium. By developing new - transcultural? - research methodes, we want to go into a deeper understanding of the dynamics of making processes and the aesthetics of the makers and wearers of Fèrègefani - and explore the possibity to share this experiences and concepts by the making of multimedia-installations. The installation 'Intimicy-Visibility' is the first that will be on display in February 2018.