There are moments in an artistic process when an image begins to ask for another form.
During my residency in Nigeria, I found myself moving beyond photographic paper and into the world of textiles. This shift was not planned from the outset; it emerged naturally through encounters, experimentation, and a growing curiosity about the material possibilities of the image.
Working alongside a local artist, I began exploring screen printing and DTF (Direct-to-Film) printing on fabric. What initially appeared to be a technical exercise quickly became an extension of the research itself.
Textile carries memory differently. It folds, moves, wrinkles, and inhabits space in ways that paper cannot. It invites touch and changes the relationship between the artwork, the body, and the exhibition space.
This stage of the residency became less about producing finished works than about learning through making. Every test print, every layer of ink, every transfer revealed new possibilities. The process demanded patience, repetition, and close attention to the material.
It was also an opportunity to learn through collaboration. Sharing techniques, exchanging knowledge, and discovering local production methods became an essential part of the residency experience.
These experiments now form part of Fela, The Feminine Resistance, where photography, archives, sound, and textile come together to construct a living archive—one that extends beyond the photographic image and into material forms capable of carrying memory in new ways.
Sometimes, the image simply leaves the paper in search of another territory.
📌 This mobility was supported by the Africa-Europe Partnerships for Culture: Sub-Saharan Africa – Connect & Create programme, funded by the European Union and implemented by the Goethe-Institut, Expertise France, and Institut français.
Hosted by New Culture Studio.