Meet the creator: Maïmouna Guerresi

Meet the creator: Maïmouna Guerresi

A search for a shared humanity beyond religion and culture

Meet Maïmouna Guerres, one of 22 artists from the exhibition A World in Common curated by Tate Modern in London in collaboration with Wereldmuseum Rotterdam. Find out more about her working methods and the cultural traditions in her work.

How would you describe your artistic style and approach?   

My artistic practice can be described as a mystical and metaphysical representation that I articulate through a hybrid and mixed language. This process of inner construction allows me to express my artistic vision using calligraphic symbols, characters, and photographic backdrops painted by me

What cultural traditions does your work connect with?  

By representing a spiritual dimension in my works, I propose a figurative potential that draws inspiration from Islamic miniatures, Senegalese murals depicting African Muslim saints, along with Islamic calligraphy. My works arranged in diptychs and polyptychs recall the iconography of late Gothic and Renaissance art with the difference that my characters are of African origin

What special meanings are conveyed in the titles you give to your works?

In my works, and the titles I give to them, I convey my personal idea of identity. For me, identity is a personal inner journey that unfolds through emotional experiences, visions, ideas and faith. An important aspect of my work is the elevation of women and the recognition of their essence as a necessary aspect for the spiritual and cultural evolution of human identity.

(Header credits: Maïmouna Guerresi, courtesy Mariane Ibrahim Gallery; M-eating- Students & Teacher, 2012)

A World in Common is on view until 25 August 2024.