wall painting 2

Drawing done in my sketchbook in February 2007 from a cushion found in a shop at Ayoun el Atrouss, Mauritania.

the beggining

with a bit of help from my friends, Bilal and Hermann (taking the photo)

Fatima and the finished wall

Here is the second wall I got to work on, using the same pattern as in the first one, i decided to repeat half of it creating this way a new one, the original pattern was taken from the ones used in a leather cushions.

Leather art and crafts are the work of Mauritanian women belonging to the cast of the "maelemins" they create utilitarian objects in leather and decorate them with exquisite patterns, different groups will have their own "motifs" making it easier to identify from which village the work comes from.

This works has to do with the disapearence of a memory. Knowledge is transmited orally and as the newer generations are being scholarised and opting for different jobs, this "savoir faire" is not being transmitted.

Most objects are for daily use so their life span is reduced.

The patterns are first recorded in my diaries , latter those patterns will be reworked and used in a new surface, wood or walls or both.