Born 1977, Antananarivo, Madagascar. Lives Antananarivo and Paris, France.
Labyrinth of Passions, 2016, black silk paper, 280 × 260 cm (110 1/4 × 102 3/8 in), private collection
Initially trained as an architect, Andrianomearisoa has built a career reimagining everyday materials – like paper, mirrors and fabric scraps – into sculptural structures. While some series are related to the artist’s Malagasy heritage, referencing indigenous plants and textiles, most of his work reflects on universal themes, including the poetics of colour and the experience of emotions. After studying with Jean- Loup Pivin (founder of Revue Noire) and Odile Decq in Paris, Andrianomearisoa focused his palette on the endless nuance within the colour black. Black is a vacuum, absorbing light, even as it is simultaneously multifaceted, like the shimmers of onyx, ebony and obsidian across the surface of coal. For the artist, black is the only colour that can capture every emotional experience, depending on the shades and textures used to manifest those feelings. ‘Labyrinth of Passions’ is an ongoing series wherein the artist layers black paper, allowing the weight and density to wrinkle, fold and re-form the flat rectangles into a densely textured surface. The form recalls the stacked strata of geological formations as he mounts the paper as a single square, along the length of a wall or as an immersive architectural space.
This text is adapted from Phaidon’s publication 'African Artists: From 1882 to Now', with introduction by Chika Okeke-Agulu and glossary by Joseph L Underwood.
As featured in the New York Times, ARTnews, Colossal, Metropolis and New York Magazine’s The Strategist - the book is a groundbreaking A-Z survey of the work of over 300 modern and contemporary artists born or based in Africa.
Latitudes Co-Founder, Lucy MacGarry consulted on the selection process for the artists featured within the publication.
Further Reading In Articles
African Artist Directory