SOPRO ANCESTRAL
About the artist
Blanche Buanga
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Dyed sand on canvas
Before the image resolves, there is the surface: grains of sand gathered into color, light and form. In Blanche Buanga’s work, that texture makes looking feel almost tactile. Shaded shapes take on volume; the eye follows the transitions and imagines the surface beneath a hand. Known artistically as N. Niima, Buanga draws on visions and imagination. His practice carries knowledge learned from parents and grandparents, developed through his own work with dyed sand. His biography also includes displacement from Congo. The invitation in these works begins with close attention. Stay with a contour or a change in color, and the material becomes part of the encounter.
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Artist Statement
Before the image resolves, there is the surface: grains of sand gathered into color, light and form. In Blanche Buanga’s work, that texture makes looking feel almost tactile. Shaded shapes take on volume; the eye follows the transitions and imagines the surface beneath a hand. Known artistically as N. Niima, Buanga draws on visions and imagination. His practice carries knowledge learned from parents and grandparents, developed through his own work with dyed sand. His biography also includes displacement from Congo. The invitation in these works begins with close attention. Stay with a contour or a change in color, and the material becomes part of the encounter.
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