Beyond the Border - My Identity

Passing or crossing borders, sometimes created only by ourselves, are the concepts that I developed in the photographic project entitled “Beyond the Border” that I exhibited at the LagosPhoto Festival.The recurrent natural elements in my works such as trees, branches, and roots, become symbols of a continuous search towards a cosmic union. The twisted branches present in almost all the photographic images are representing the metaphor of the passage, the energy that flows and that goes beyond the geographical boundaries and those of themselves - Maïmouna Guerresi

Maïmouna Guerresi is an Italian-Senegalese artist, born in Italy and converted to Islam after living in Senegal. Her work is a hybrid embrace of ancestry in African, Asian and European culture.

Her works present an intimate perspective on human spirituality in relation to mysticism, shedding a new light on community and the soul. Recurrent metaphors such as milk, light, the hijab, trees create an awareness of the vital unifying qualities of Islamic spirituality. Guerresi’s images are delicate narratives with fluid sequencing, an appreciation of shared humanity beyond borders – psychological, cultural, and political.

Her work has been extensively exhibited in solo and group shows all over Europe, Africa, the United States, Asia, and the Middle East. Guerresi was invited to participate in the Italian pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 1982, 1986, 2011 and at Documenta K18, Kassel, Germany in 1987.