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BIOGRAPHY
Lamyne M.’s art practice reflects a sustained interest in how cultural, economic, and social issues are embedded in material objects, including costume and fabrics. Having trained in fashion, Lamyne M. applies textiles to different supports—as diverse as buildings, mechanical fans, and live animals—to activate a range of concepts and critiques ranging from gender imbalances in history to concern for the environment and for vulnerable populations.
Lamyne M. also addresses the reception of African immigrants and African art and culture in the West. This is reflected in his series entitled Marabout 3.0, which consists of charms made in conjunction with African marabouts and ritually activated to assist the passage of migrants.
Lamyne M. regards his own migrations, which have carried him from Africa to Europe, Asia, and Latin America, as having made him a “culture smuggler,” shuttling between the worlds of contemporary art and other realms of knowledge, both popular and expert. At the same time, as a French citizen, he is interested in what it means to be French today, particularly as a resident of Saint-Denis, the suburb of Paris that is said to be the most diverse place in Europe. Lamyne M. is Artistic Director of Saint-Denis’ bid to become 2028 European Capital of Culture. He is advisor to a bilateral project between Saint-Denis and Oakland project concerning the role of culture on the periphery of metropolises, called In the Banlieues/Centering the Margin: Oakland/Saint-Denis.
Experiencing the global COVID crisis from France, Lamyne M. reflected on global differences in the capacity to deal with disease prevention, and the irony of the Western world’s struggle with the virus despite its vaunted superiority in science and infrastructure. This led him to create a type of visual diary, a masked self-portrait for each day, often titled according to major pronouncements by Western leaders or newsworthy moments. His masks play both on the hygienic masks prescribed by government and African traditions of masking that are part of the West’s stereotypical view of African art.
CV
2022
Artistic Director for City of Saint-Denis’ bid to become 2028 European Capital of Culture
Member of Advisory Committee, “In the Banlieues/Centering the Margin: Oakland/Saint-Denis,” “to compare innovations, promote international and interdisciplinary dialogue, and amplify the role of the cultural sector in urban development”
Performances in conjunction with project exhibition and a residency hosted by Villa Albertine and California Humanities: Ritual I (Villa Albertine, Oakland, CA); Ritual II (SPUR, San Francisco)
Walking step by step in Pakistan, solo exhibition, Dastangooi Gallery Islamabad, (Pakistan)
Performance in Jagha Hai (Is There a Space?/There is a Space!), Amin Gulgee Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan
Artist residency hosted by the French Embassy in Lahore, Pakistan
Princess, exhibition ENTRELACS / INTERLACED), Cité internationale des arts, Paris, France
Selected artist for Congo Biennale
2021
Afrique Utopies Performatives. Performance in collaboration with Amin Gulgee and Vhan Olsen Dombo. Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris (France)
Teintue, perfrormance, part Afriques Fantastiques (Fantastic Africa) and Here Comes Africa, proposal of the Friche la Belle de Mai, in partnership with Les Rencontres à l’mesure – B/P, Marseille, (France)
I, Melchior 1 in “neuf-3” an ephemeral public art project, Saint-Denis (France)
2020
Lamyne M & Phyllis Galembo (two-person show) presented by Axis Gallery, BRAFA & BRUNEAF, Brussels (Belgium)
Habiller l’espace public (Dressing the public space), one-week workshop taught at the Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux,(France)
Déshabiller les hommes pour habiller les ânes, installation-performance, Les Praticables festival, Bamako (Mali)
2019
Route de la Soie / Silk Road catalog, Kyrgusthan
L’évolution du temps (The evolution of time), installation, and Marcher sur l’eau (Walking on water), performance. Lazy Artis Festival, (Kyrgyzstan)
Robe de Françoise de Foix, creation and exhibition, Châteaubriant (france)
Exhibition Sur leur 31! (les arbres). Dressing of trees, performance, (Fondette, France)
Member of the official delegation, Oakland-Saint-Denis Cooperation Project
2018
Vêtement-ir, performances, Bamako (Mali) and Ouagadougou (Burkina-Faso)
Les Grandes Robes Royales, exhibition, French Embassy in Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Vêtement-ir Exhibition, performance and conference, Cité internationale des Arts (Paris)
Silk Road exhibition at the National Museum of Astana (Kazakhstan)
Get out of bed! Exhibition, National Museum of Kaohsiung Art Biennale (Taiwan)
Les Robes Géantes exhibition and Vêtement-ir performance, Shanghai (China)
Exhibition Les Grands Robes Royales Château de Châteaubriant
Vêtement-ir, performance, Ziguinchor (Senegal)
Vêtement-ir, performance, Cité internationale des arts (Paris)
2017
Les Grandes Robes Royales, exhibition, City of Fashion and Design (Paris)
Sculpté par le vent photographic exhibition, National Museum of Astana (Kazakhstan)
Sculpté par le vent, exhibition, performance and installation, Festival Art Fest d’Astana (Kazakhstan)
Le désordre du vêtement, Town Hall, (Villetaneuse, Paris)
2016
Les Grandes Robes Royales, exhibition, Château de Chinon, France
Les Grandes Robes Royales, exhibition, Châteaudun Castle, France
Les Grandes Robes Royales catalogue release
2015
Les Grandes Robes Royales, exhibition, Basilica of St-Denis with the Centre des Monuments Nationaux (Ministry of Culture). November 2015 – June 2016
Presentation of the Robes Géantes, Art for Peace exhibition, UNESCO (Paris)
Robes Géantes exhibition, United States Embassy (Paris)
Force noire contre col blanc, exhibition & occupation of public space, Saint-Denis
2014
Robes Géantes, exhibition, Museums Quartier, Vienna (Austria)
Dance performance on photographs, French Institute of N’Djamena (Chad)
2012-2013
Robes Géantes , exhibition, French Institute of Fez, Meknes, Marrakech (Morocco)
Exhibition, Biennial of Creation, Pantin (France)
Exhibition, Carrousel des Métiers d’Art et de Créatio, the Louvre, Paris (France)
2011
Je les vois grandes, exhibition, Saint-Denis, co-production with Chantiers du Sud
2010
Je les vois grandes, exhibition, Africolor Festival, Gérard-Philipe Theater (Saint-Denis)
2009
Miss B, Residence and Studio, Kaohsiung Museum, (Taiwan)
Miss B, Residence and Workshop at Cité de l’architecture, Paris (France)