Born in 1980, Fatoumata Diabaté is a committed portrait artist who claims an identity art anchored in the culture of her country of origin, Mali. Questioning the notion of humanity and power relations, she wields powerful symbols in order to awaken consciences. Today internationally recognized, it focuses mainly on the representation of women and young generations between Mali and France.

 

For her carte blanche at Sorbonne Artgallery, Fatoumata Diabaté created a series in Mali during the summer of 2024. For about sixty years, and particularly since 2010, the country has been prey to geopolitical conflicts. With the project Nte logo saga ye – which means 'I am not pottery' in the Bambara language.

 

Fatoumata Diabaté pays tribute to the victims of abuses committed in Ogossagou, a village in the Dogon country destroyed on March 23, 2019, where the entire population was burned alive. Equipped with the only weapon she possesses, her art, Fatoumata Diabaté transports us into this "victim space" and testifies to the suffering linked to this massacre. Through the use of pottery, she confronts the durability of this everyday object, "burned" to be solidified, with the murder of the inhabitants, killed by fire. She approaches this series as a real testimony, thus expressing both violence and resistance.