AAAA-Atelier Autodidacts Anti-Algorithms - MALI

Bogolan, or Bògòlanfini, meaning “mud cloth”  is an original textile art comprised of regional cotton fabric, finimugu, dyed in fermented mud. Despite its highly labour-intensive production process, all AAAA Bogolans are hand-picked, spun, woven, dyed and painted. The aim, in practice. To engender a greater connection between the piece  and the environment it's rooted in.

The pieces make use of locally grown herbs as well as Niger river mud in their various patterns’ compositions. The plants used, typically claimed to hold medicinal properties and as such, the cloth is traditionally believed to have the power to absorb dangerous forces released in life-threatening circumstances, gaining for itself  the moniker of  ‘medicine cloth’.

Built to contemporize the patterns and practices passed on by its ancestors and predecessors, AAAA attempts to capture a snapshot of its own essence within its stitching points. 

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