Nyama

1 - 9 September 2023

WELCOME TO OUR NYAMA VIEWING ROOM
The Nyama is the vital energy present in all living beings, and released at the moment of death becomes dangerous if left unchecked.

Sculpture, often seen as a receptacle for Nyama, offers a means of controlling its effects.

Nyama is at the heart of ritual objects, conferring profound power and meaning on these sculptures.
“Treat a work of art like a prince, let it speak to you first.”
Arthur Schopenhauer
Since the 3rd century, the vast savannahs of West Africa have witnessed the rise and fall of powerful empires. The Mali Empire, with its origins in Mande, was one of the largest and most powerful empires in West Africa, prospering from the 13th to the 15th century.

Its eastward expansion profoundly influenced the peoples of the region, spreading both Islam and animist cults originating in the Mande. A form of syncretism was gradually established between Islam and traditional religions, as well as between certain animist cults of the different peoples of the region.
The power of fascination of these sculptures remains intact, immutable guardians of ancestral secrets and original myths.

Like a symbolic language, they represent humanity’s aspiration to try to perceive the invisible.