Orianne
Image taken by Zainab Floyd at the Bushman Cafe.
I met with Orianne, a painter from France at the Foundation Donwahi. Initially we intended on viewing the exhibition at Foundation Donwahi and having a discussion about her artwork but the cultural center was under construction as they were preparing for an upcoming exhibition. We decided to take a Yango (a taxi equivalent to uber or lyft) to the Bushman Café. As we were stuck in traffic, Orianne spoke about her experience growing up in France and her decision to move to Abidjan during the pandemic. She was intending on living in Abidjan for three months, but the three months turned into two years. In Abidjan she has felt an urgency to create, she attributes the weather, and the people being instrumental in her move to Abidjan. This is the city where she found her larger community of artists. Once we arrived at the Bushman Café we sat at a table on the rooftop that looked down at the pool, tall buildings, and homes shrouded in trees. We spoke until the day darkened and lit up with bright stars and a full moon blanketing the sky. She defined herself as a painter in 2019. “I had a flash. A realization. I just woke up one day and said I am an artist. My body said it. My mind said it. It is more like a feeling.” Her paintings are depictions of healing, and analyzing self love. She continued “I talk about depression in my work and self-love. People on the internet tell you to do this for yourself but in reality it is way deeper than that.” Orianne is critiquing the declaration of self-love and holding a space where discussions of depression, and healing do not look beautiful and are much more complexed. Through her paintings she engages with themes of mental health.
Since Orianne has moved to Abidjan from France she has shown work at The Garage Hub, The Bushman Cafe, Labaraque, and illustrated the cover of The Abidjaner. Orianne’s practice informs the importance of women of color creating paintings that are self-reflective and most importantly center African women and femmes. Most of her paintings are self-portraits that depict the possibilities of healing, and joy. Orianne has exhibited her work in spaces that were founded by other young Ivorian women creatives. She is a representation of the benefits of community and creative spaces that are founded by Ivorian women in Abidjan. She continues to make art that highlights her narrative and the difficulties of mental health. Orianne wants viewers to know that there can be light at the end of the tunnel.
Images provided from Orianne’s instagram page.
Volume 5
