Nègèbennan

Nègèbennan, “the shield” in Bambara, is an ode to resilience, given form through successive layers of solid Amazakoué, a dense West African hardwood rarely seen in contemporary design. The swellings that distort its surface evoke the impacts that shape every human experience; the strata that contain them speak of the strength that comes with time and accumulated knowledge. Legs and swellings are turned on the lathe, giving the whole a visual and structural continuity.

Shown at the Biennale of Contemporary African Art, Dak'Art 2024, which marked the return of design after a sixteen-year absence, the piece stands between functional object and sculptural presence, anchoring collective memory in the material.