In collaboration with Atelier Publimod.

With ‘Soul Of A Land’, Malick Bodian introduces a nuanced study of landscapes taken during his travels to the African continent. This exhibition is the first chapter of a visual contemplation on scenic abundance, inviting viewers to encounter sun-drenched sea-sides and lush country plains. At the same time, Bodian’s images present a very contemporary opportunity to interrogate the link between human life and Nature, asking who dictates who in an ever complicated and pressing relationship. Bodian has a unique way of demonstrating, for example, the dynamic between human activity in natural landscapes, depicting scenes where it sometimes invades and modifies them, and others where spontaneous growth prevails. The colourful dresses doing business at a banana market in Rwanda appear like wildflowers in a field; an urban construction site in Dakar creates organic looking forms as if it were a desert landscape; an overgrown cemetery brims with greenery, as if the trees themselves, like religious icons, were paying homage to the dead through abundant life. Through these images, Bodian tells a story of wilderness surrounded by human life, yet in turn, a story of how our human doing is forever framed by the enchanting presence of the wild.

Sophie Strobele