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Grafikama Exhibition in Nantes – Modern Graphic Art from Africa

Yet another day, yet another art exhibition to visit! In France, when in doubt, go check out some art. Love it or hate it; ultimately, who cares?—what matters most is having an opinion and feeling something, anything, even boredom or disdain.

Yesterday’s Italian-style park and modern art exhibit weren’t my tasse de thé. I was indifferent to the artists’ work. But tonight, I’m still excited about the Grafikama exhibition we visited in the afternoon and I’m already planning to go back before it ends on Friday. Go figure.

Grafikama is the third and last part of a cycle of exhibitions dedicated to graphic creation around the world, initiated by Pick Up Production and the artist Kazy Usclef for the Voyage à Nantes. This year, African artists are in the spotlight: for two weeks, in June, 13 of them worked in an old industrial building, hidden from public view. Then it was turned into a lively place of experimentation and artistic conception for the months of July and August.

First of all, the building was fascinating, with high ceilings and a lot of light. Visually, the art is stunning: bold colours, geometrical patterns and different styles highlight themes that speak to me—questions about history, boundaries, and borders, the ambiguous relations between African and Western countries, identity and immigration. At first glance, the artwork looks naive but it’s actually more subversive than it seems.

In a way, the artwork reminded me of our travels, Latin America, the mosaic of cultures we live in, this colourful yet rebellious world I enjoy.

It inspired me. Merci les artistes!

Picture taken by Mark
Picture taken by Mark
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
Grafikama (Service peinture), contemporary graphic creations from African artists
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Zhu

French woman in English Canada.

Exploring the world with my camera since 1999, translating sentences for a living, writing stories that may or may not get attention.

Firm believer that nobody is normal... and it’s better this way.

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