"Paper is a place of thought, of doubt, of trying out. It accepts mistakes, changes, remorse."
William Kentridge
UNBOUND PAPER
Flexible, fragile, malleable and yet so powerful: paper has crossed the centuries and cultures as a medium of transmission, memory and expression. The group show, ‘Papier Libre’, features artists Oumar Ball, Faten Rouissi, Christophe Sawadogo and Eric Wonanu, all of whom have made this material a field for plastic and poetic experimentation.
Each, in their own way, uses paper to question memory, introspection, identity and socio-political tension. Whether saturated with ink, layered, cut, scratched or assembled, paper becomes a space of tension, reflection and openness.
With Oumar Ball, paper is associated with wire, metal and raw materials. In his works, the Mauritanian artist sculpts light, emptiness and shifting contours of identity, shaped by childhood memories, recycling and a poetic quest for balance.
For Faten Rouissi, paper is a political material. It embraces the words, gestures and symbols of a transforming society. The Tunisian artist creates a plural and critical body of work, where paper serves as the basis for installations that question power and public space.
Christophe Sawadogo, from Burkina-Faso, draws dreamlike silhouettes in ink and pencil, somewhere between poetry and commitment. His serene compositions address themes such as migration and the human condition, while paying a special tribute to women's resilience.
Éric Wonanu offers a stripped-down, sensitive introspection. In his ‘Involution of the Soul’ series, the Togolese artist explores the fragility of the psyche through spontaneous drawings, filled with erased words and curled-up bodies. Paper becomes a metaphor for memory, doubt and inner wandering.
‘Papier Libre’ pays homage to this modest material, capable of absorbing gestures and thoughts, embracing the most complex forms and the most intimate emotions. It's an invitation to reconsider paper, not just as a medium, but as an active force in contemporary creation.
