Malala Andrialavidrazana exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris.

Today we would like to share with you the monumental work of a Madagascan artist and friend, whose magnificent frescoes offer a new reading of our history.

Since 17 October 2024, the Palais de Tokyo, in Paris, has been devoting a monumental exhibition to the artist Malala Andrialavidrazana, entitled Figures, on show until 5 January 2025. Installed in the spectacular space of the great glass roof, this work extends over nearly 60 metres.

”Figures” digital photomontages

Born in Madagascar in 1971, Malala Andrialavidrazana moved to Paris where she studied architecture before devoting herself to photography and the visual arts. Since 2015, she has been working on her Figures series of digital photomontages. She uses iconographic archives from the 19th and 20th centuries, maps, banknotes, stamps and photographs. These compositions reflect the imagery of modernity and its tensions: the expansion of industrial capitalism, globalisation as it relates to colonisation, and representations of power and knowledge.

To illustrate all this, Malala uses the technique of collage, which she describes as “an art of conflict”. She assembles images that, at first glance, don't necessarily belong together, but which reveal hidden and often opposing stories. She takes tools of power, like maps, and deconstructs them to make us think about questions like “who is telling the story ?” and “where does this point of view come from?”.

More simply, these works aim to deconstruct historical narratives by revealing the truths that are often concealed by the visual representations that are generally put forward. Her approach is to re-examine these tools, used historically to impose a certain vision of the world. By juxtaposing images from different eras and cultures in her collages, she challenges the patterns we have learned and habitually use. She rebalances the stories in such a way as to re-establish certain truths or answers certain questions whose answers remain unclear. In this way, she seeks to offer a more complete and nuanced reading of the global history.

An international career

In 2023, the artist's work was shown in major institutions such as the Tate Modern in London, the Triennale Art et Industrie in Roubaix, and the Sharjah Biennial in the United Arab Emirates. Her artistic career has also included major events such as the Rencontres de Bamako, the Lagos Photo Festival and the Zeitz Mocaa in Cape Town. Her work has been exhibited across the globe, from Chicago to Hong Kong, via Berlin, Lyon and Warsaw.

Don't hesitate to come and visit if you get the chance ! 🖼️

This exhibition is on show at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris, until 5 January 2025.