Bleu no. 1

This expansive canvas invites reflection on the indelible significance of indigo in West African aesthetics. Made from various plants, the pigment has been widely used across both North Africa and the Sahel region for centuries. Global demand and its labor-intensive production made it central to trade networks. In this composition, Konaté has explored the single color across the full spectrum of its intensity. The artist’s medium is industrially produced European fabric that he has transformed with dyes, cut into delicate strips, and assembled and sewn together to create a large-scale tapestry. Through his agile variation of the fringes’ length, Konaté imbues the work with a musical, rhapsodic quality.