IBRAHIM BALLO
On a un message (2022)
Acrylic weaving and cotton embroidery on canvas
148 x 120 cm
Born in 1986, Ibrahim Ballo lives and works in Bamako. He obtained his Master
of Visual Arts in 2017, in Mali.
His plastic approach is based on the weaving of paintings, inspired by the women of his community in the rural Sénoufo region of Mali, who weave cotton for clothing.
His masked subjects engage a reflection on identities while stretching the concept. Associated with the knotted threads, the networks of lines drawn in acrylic intersect creating a multitude of junction points.
Carrying a story on several levels, cotton conveys - with its symbolic motifs - stories of circulation, migration and appropriation. Ibrahim Ballo subtly evokes oppression, marginalization and inequality. L’Esprit Bavard (The Talkative Spirit) of Ballo highlights those whose voice does not count, who we do not hear even if they can speak.
The artist always experiments according to his desires. Since 2019, Ibrahim Ballo has been integrating cotton jeans. Denim, very present in Mali, allows him to unfold stories that intersect, bind, influence, challenge and respond to each other.
He obtained his Master's degree at the Balla Fasseké Kouyaté Conservatory in Bamako under the direction of Salia Malé and Abdoulaye Konaté in 2017.
In 2022, Ibrahim Ballo is the winner of the Segou'Art Festival Prize. In 2020, he is a laureate of the Institut français residency program at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris.
Ibrahim Ballo is also an active member of the Tim'arts and Sanou'art collectives in Bamako. His work is part of several collections, including the OLYM Collection.
GROUP SHOWS :
2023
- 1-54 Marrakech | with Galerie Carole Kvasnevski, Marrakech, Maroc
2022
- Boot Camp #2 : Residency : Training Workshop and Creation, Conferences | 32 Bis Art Centre, Tunis, Tunisia
- Biennale de Dakar OFF | Ateliers Sahm, Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo
- Show Mossi x Ibrahim Ballo Fashion Collaboration with Mossi Traoré | Carrousel du Louvre, Paris, France
- Group show - Les « voix » du textile
with Ibrahim Ballo / Wole Lagunju / Samuel Nnorom / Victor Olaoyé
| part of “Traversées Africaines”, Pour l’art pour l’Afrique.
- Group show - “Réflexions”, end of residency exhibition | Fondation Donwahi, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
2021
- Show Mossi x Ibrahim Ballo, Spring/Summer 2022, Fashion Collaboration with Mossi Traoré | Palais de Tokyo Paris, France
- “Réinventer le monde... à l’aube des traversées” | part of Africa 2020 Season | Centre d’art Montevideo, Marseille, France
Curator Bill Kouelany, director of Ateliers Sahm, Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo
- “Matières, manières et sociétés” | Galerie du Fleuve, Institut Français, St-Louis, Senegal
with Ibrahim Ballo, Dramane Bamana, Ange Dakouo, Souleymane Guindo and Alassane Koné
2020
- Group show, “Origines” | Afikaris, Paris, France
- Group show, “Migration et Identité” | Tim’arts Collective | Segou’arts, Festival 16th edition | Korè Cultural Centre, Sebougou, Mali
2019
- Group show, Ebony Curated | Cape Town, South Africa
- AKAA (Also Known as Africa) Art & Design Fair | Galerie Chauvy, Paris, France
2018
- Collectif Equations Nomades | Institut français, Mali
- Group show, OFF de Dak’art | Dakar, Senegal
- Résidency : 6th edition of RIAC | Ateliers Sahm, Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo
- Group show | Galerie Develop ON, Paris, France
2017
- La migration des couleurs | Association APAC, Vaureal, France
- Group show |Institut Français, Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo
- Group show, Espace du Monde | Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
2016
Group show, Collectif Tim’arts | Musée du district, Bamako, Mali
2015
- “Âme de mérite” | Collectif Tim’arts |Galerie Médina Bamako, Mali
- 31st Salon des Artistes pour la Liberté en France | Amnesty International, Angers, France.
SOLO SHOWS :
2023
- "DONNE LA PAROLE" | Galerie Carole Kvasnevski, Paris, France
2022
- Residency : Fondation Pernod Ricard and Ateliers Sahm,Brazzaville | Montevideo Art Centre, Marseille, France
2021
- “Fil d’hibernation, de l’hibernation au… confinement” | Galerie Chauvy, Paris, France
2020
- Residency |Institut Français, Cité Internationale des arts, Paris, France
2019
- “Méditation” | Villa Soudan, Bamako, Mali.
- Solo show | Villa Yiri Suma, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
2018
- AKAA (Also Known as Africa) Art & Design Fair
| avec Galerie Chauvy, Paris, France
2016
- Segou’Art Solo Show | Off du Salon d’art Contemporain du Mali
AWARDS :
2022 - Awarded 1st Prize at Segou’Art Festival - 18th edition
2020 - Granted the 2020 Residency Program of Institut français Mali and Cité Internationale des arts Paris | Paris, France
2017
- 1st Prize : Visual Arts of Ateliers Sahm, RIAC, Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo
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