About

My artistic practice lives in the spaces between tongues — in exophony, literature written away from the language one was born into.

Whereabouts

I host a cultural space and art gallery called Studio Fremdeling. With a long history of running an art residency in Saint-Louis, Senegal, I also co-host an artists’ residency program  in Kristinestad, Finland.

What I Work On

My research focuses on the exilic experience and the lives of people in urban and transit spaces. In literature, I am drawn primarily to writers of the Global South and the Middle East, and to the literatures of their diasporas, though my interests are not limited to these. I am also currently co-writing a book on the history of wallpapers in Kristinestad.

Why Afropolis?

Urban theorists have long viewed African metropolises through a limited lens: as failed cities starved of services, or more optimistically, as perpetual works in progress. I see their informal economies and social networks as sources of insight for other rapidly growing urban regions, and I share my reflections on this topic here.

Where to Find My Work

Social media is not my cup of tea. Instead, I share personal work through an occasional exhibition, or in the form of a book, or conversations over a coffee, or through chronicles in this blog. I work slowly. This is not a shortcoming but a method that suits me best. 

My favorite quote

« Let’s be very clear: Europe is not my centre. Europe is on the outskirts. After 100 years here, did they speak my language ? I speak theirs. My future does not depend on Europe. I’d like them to understand me but it makes no difference… Take the map of Africa… Place Europe and America together and there’s still room left. Why be a sunflower and turn toward the sun ? I myself am the sun ! »  Ousmane Sembène