Seyni Awa Camara
b. 1945, Senegal
Seyni Awa Camara (b 1945, Senegal) is an octogenarian African sculptor, whose mystical healing figures speak of motherhood, magic and the forest spirits who inform her daily practice.
Born into a family of artisans and vessel makers, Camara was introduced to the use of clay by her mother. Yet even as a child, her approach to the material was individuated, and strongly guided by a connection to the divine. Although she originally concealed this figurative practice, her activities became known locally; and, with the support of anthropologist Michèle Odeyé-Finzi, brought her to the attention of a wider audience.
Camara’s inclusion in Jean Hubert Martin’s Les Magiciens de la Terre (Magicians of the Earth) (1989) at Centre Pompidou, Paris, brought international acclaim. Subsequent exhibitions include Plateau dell’Umanità (Plateau of Humankind), curated by Harald Szeemann at the 49th Venice Biennale (2001), 100% Africa at Guggenheim Bilbao (2007) and Art/Afrique, Le Nouvel Atelier (Art/Africa, The New Studio) at Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris (2017). Camara was profiled in Donner Naissance (Giving Birth) by Fatou Kandé Senghor which was selected by curator Okwui Enwezor for the 56th Venice Biennale (2015).
Camara’s terracotta oeuvre features in numerous museum collections, notably Tate Modern, London, Musée du quai Branly, Paris and the National Museum, Oslo.