Maïmouna Guerresi's 'La Création du Monde' at Matèria, Rome

Maïmouna Guerresi (born 1951 in Vicenza), an Italo-Senegalese artist, presents 'La Création du Monde' at Matèria gallery in Rome. The exhibition explores human condition, spirituality, and transformation through photography, sculpture, and video. Works like 'Colonna Minareto' and 'Terracotta Carpets' evoke divine connection via prayer symbols. 'The Golden Door' contrasts a black cloak with a gold door, addressing illusion and mortality. The photographic polyptych 'The Blue Table, Light Salt' depicts a mystical female banquet, while 'La Via Lattea' features ceramic nipples. Guerresi challenges gender stereotypes and colonial narratives, focusing on women in the Islamic world. Influenced by Sufi traditions, she uses symbolic and allegorical visual language. The eponymous video, inspired by a Dogon oral tale, merges earthly and cosmic elements, exploring cultural links between Black Africa and Mediterranean civilizations, highlighting phonemic connections between Wolof and ancient Egyptian. The show culminates in this video, which dissolves the ego into a unified reality of knowledge and contemplation.