Mame-Diarra Niang: Remember to Forget
The essence of the Black body stands at the core of French artist Mame-Diarra Niang’s latest series.
Rather than confining it to a specific narrative, Niang seeks to free it from long-standing Western portrayals. Her goal is abstraction, achieved through what she describes as “non-portraits,” where each piece becomes a kind of personal reflection. “What shapes me?” she questions. Her identity is not a static construct imposed or reduced to a single form; instead, it flows from a blend of experience, memory, and selective forgetting. It is this fluid, ever-evolving essence that she delves into.
During a period of deep isolation, Niang began exploring this concept by photographing digital screens, embracing photographic imperfections like blur, distortion, and light halos. Much like a psychologist uses inkblots to reveal subconscious thoughts, Niang uses the flaws in these images as spaces of projection. “I am this blur,” she reflects.
Curated by Clément Chéroux, Director, Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, Remember to Forget marks Niang’s first solo exhibition in France. The final series, Æther (2024), debuts here as a unique contribution to this collection.
About the Author
Born in Lyon in 1982 and based in Paris, Mame-Diarra Niang is a self-taught artist and photographer, focused on the “plasticity of territory.” She has held numerous solo shows, notably at Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town (2023-2024) and Stevenson Gallery in Johannesburg and Amsterdam (2022, 2021, 2017, 2014). Her works have also featured in group exhibitions such as Glitch. The Art of Interference at Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich (2023) and Unbound: Performance as Rupture at Julia Stoschek Foundation in Berlin (2023). She has participated in the Sharjah Biennale (2023), Hamburg Photography Triennial (2022), Dakar Biennale (2022), São Paulo Biennale (2018), and Berlin Biennale (2018), among others.
Niang’s art is held in major collections, including MoMA, Sharjah Art Foundation, Huis Marseille Museum for Photography, Pinakothek der Moderne Munich, Frac Corse, Frac Réunion, Centre National des Arts Plastiques (Cnap), Soloviev Foundation, and Walther Collection. In 2022, she published her first artist’s book, The Citadel: A Trilogy, a three-volume exploration of her intimate yet analytical relationship with place. She is currently developing her second book with MACK.
Mame-Diarra Niang: Remember to Forget
October 9, 2024 — January 5, 2025
Henri Cartier Bresson Foundation – Paris – France
