Life is learning (2018)
Bundu mask (wood), alkyd paint, porcelain, porcelain paint and copper leaf 25-53-28 cm
private collection (The Netherlands)
Bundu mask (wood), alkyd paint, porcelain, porcelain paint and copper leaf 25-53-28 cm
private collection (The Netherlands)
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Life is learning has been through such a transformation. Made using a Bundu mask from Sierra Leone, which is a symbol of the Bundu society (women's secret society), where girls enter to learn about becoming a woman, this piece tries to emphasise the positive aspects of this society: learning how to become a woman. By completely stripping back and re-defining the mask features, making legs and covering her with a head of hair made from painted porcelain figurines, her vibrant, colourful character has been exposed. By painting this mask with a high gloss black paint and copper-leaf gilded lipstick, the viewer has the impression the whole piece is made from porcelain, emphasising the stunning beauty and grace of this mask's underlying character. Each of the porcelain figurines have been carefully painted with patterns, colours and words that represent the lessons of life for girls transitioning to women. Words like confidence, strength, speak-out and love adorn the figurines and aim to show the power offered to young women in this new world.
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