Aichoucha Haidara: I, The Wearer

“This exhibition explores my journey of finding healing through grief. After the loss of my sister, I was in a very obscure place but realized that creating is the only way I can overcome this suffering. Through my art, my intent is to create worlds where her and her visions can live on. The world that I have been working on for the past year explores the ideas of masks, costumes and other handmade objects that serve as an integral part of Malian ritual practices.

Death and loss are experiences that we will all have to face. Studying how different African cultures engage with them has inspired me to keep going and growing. Burial ceremonies often take the form of celebrations of life with people wearing garments and masks that may represent spirits or ancestors that have crossed over. Like these traditional ceremonies, through my art, I am able to continue the celebration of my sister’s life, the hopes and dreams she left behind and the better worlds she could have been a part of creating.

I, the wearer, can become a medium for the dialogue between the people and the spirits. Through music, dance and costume, the mask-wearer is transformed, concealing their human identity and temporarily allowing them to channel the spirits.

In this ongoing series, I will be creating costumes that represent different concepts, cultures and humans who have made a mark on their community while they were in our world. I hope to keep researching the art, costumes and material explorations that characterize African rituals and ceremonies.”
– Aichoucha Haidara