Christophe Sawadogo
Interview
The Driving Force Behind My Work?
I see art as being at the heart of society. My gallery in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, is called ‘Maan Neere’. In my language (Moore) it means ‘to do beautiful/good’ but it has a double meaning of making something aesthetically appealing that also morally good – combining ‘le beau et le bien’ – this expresses why and how art matters to me. Anything that is just can be beautiful and something that is beautiful should be just and help achieve justice.
Like many Burkinabe, my parents migrated to Ivory Coast when I was small, leaving me in the care of my aunt. My aunt did not have daughters so I was raised with tasks that normally make up the life of girls, such as fetching water and strolling in the bush with goats. I saw the beauty of the Sahelian landscape, but also the hardships it poses to its residents, these are important themes in my work today.
Art is part of social life, it expresses the beauty and pain of people, it is present in many forms of skilled, artisanal labour and it addresses societal concerns. Art is so much more than ‘selling paper to white men’, as women in my village of origin put it to me long ago. The confined and commodified Western way of defining art is just one form. My art is an eventful process in which social ties are made, social concerns expressed, and possible futures portrayed. About ten years ago I quit working in conservation and I refuge myself in the art world.
Please Talk A Bit About The Process Of Your Work.
I am a painter and visual artist. I am also a designer. I paint when I am inspired to do so. I make personal works but also collective works for which I invite people outside my environment so that together we can create something that resembles us and brings us together. My gallery is near schools and a university and I often participate in art activities. For instance, by teaching schoolchildren how to make photographs and use photography to portray their own lives. Artists can use the exhibition space, they do not pay commission but they are obliged to teach arts to the community.
You cannot always predict what will emerge from collaboration. Last year I offered to work with gold miners and they agreed. I discussed with the mine manager and the village chiefs about working together on an art project. They replied that their wish was to have a roundabout because it can save lives. It is like they imposed their roundabout on me, so I adapted it. I told myself as an artist sometimes you have to work with the environment in which you live. We made a concrete roundabout like a star. It shows that in Burkina Faso – where there is a lot of violence - we are at an important moment in our history where several ethnic groups must collaborate, talk and walk in the same direction. So the five branches of the star represent Burkina Faso in its diversity.
Where Has Your Work Engaged With Systems Change-Making?
Change-making starts with people. I write stories into painting – using calligraphy – and in that way people can express their hardships of the past and their aspirations of the future.
I am working in a project called ‘Gold Matters’ an association with researchers working on gold mining and sustainable development. Through art, we stimulate conversations about the lives of artisanal gold miners and the sustainability issues they face. They are very disadvantaged and there are many problems of poverty and the environment.
See Christophe’s recent exhibition as part of the Gold Matter's Project, as well as the accompanying film here.
