FOUR
SEASONS
AN EXHIBITION BY BENJAMIN LOYAUTÉ
OPENING
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23 . 2024
FROM 3 PM TO 7 PM
Hakanto Contemporary is pleased to announce FOUR SEASONS, Benjamin Loyauté’s first exhibition in Madagascar. Known for his poetic and committed approach, Loyauté’s works will highlight the relationships between the material and immaterial, the visible and invisible, local culture, and environmental issues.
Invited by Ndao Hanavao and Hakanto Contemporary, he was given a carte blanche to imagine and design this exhibition, FOUR SEASONS, which is both a deep immersion into his artistic universe, enriched by his latest creative experiences in Madagascar, and a recontextualization of the fruits of his years of collaboration with the Ndao Hanavao project.
For his first presentation in Madagascar, Benjamin Loyauté’s evocation of the four seasons resonates with the multiple realities of an agricultural territory and a community for whom circumstances and weather phenomena shape everyday life, the present, and the future.
Curated by Rina Ralay-Ranaivo, with scientific guidance from Bako Rasoarifetra, the FOUR SEASONS exhibition offers an aesthetic exploration of climate change effects on Madagascar, especially on its farming communities and landscapes. Through videos, installations, and sculptures, Benjamin Loyauté explores the role of art as a balancing force in a world in transition. He revisits the four seasons in harmony with Malagasy realities, creating a dialogue between tradition and modernity, between nature and technology.
Benjamin Loyauté is known for his multidisciplinary works that question perception and cultural heritage. With FOUR SEASONS, he highlights Malagasy ancestral practices, especially around the pearl—a symbolic object he incorporates into his artistic reflection. In collaboration with Ndao Hanavao youth, Benjamin Loyauté created Voa ary, a recycled plastic bead consecrated during a traditional ritual.
The exhibition is supported by Rubis Mécénat
in collaboration with Ndao Hanavao
HAKANTO CONTEMPORARY
ALHAMBRA GALLERY . LEVEL 2
ANKADIMBAHOAKA . ANTANANARIVO
MADAGASCAR
CURATED BY
RINA RALAY-RANAIVO
SCIENTIFIC ADVISOR
BAKO RASOARIFETRA
After four years of existence here in Antananarivo,
Hakanto Contemporary is now moving to this new playground to confirm our commitment to Madagascar
and, above all, to the artists.
A new place to leave more room for emotions despite uncertain times.
A new, larger space for artists to express their desires and convictions.
In the wake of this expansion, we are also inaugurating new approaches: the creation of a specific Hakanto Studio space for workshops, a part of the site dedicated to Resaka Hakanto conversations, and a new Hakanto Shop.
Hakanto Contemporary has also become a publisher, with Hakanto Edition and, above all, a new season-based program.
Introducing the inaugural season HISTOIRES DE FAMILLE, featuring six multi-faceted exhibitions :
THE GRIEF, a sound exhibition by Aude Onivola Rajaona in which she evokes family memories from a birthday party to a fara‑veloma.
LE CORPS DES VOLANTS À SIX ÉTAGES, Jessy Razafimandimby’s first solo show in Madagascar, transports us into his different visions between fianakaviana fendrofendro sa ve ampinga paradisa?
AVEC ELLES, Alexandre Gourçon’s first solo exhibition, in which he evokes the heritage of his two grandmothers, but above all the local asa tanana.
MOTHER, a discussion between Asma Ben Aissa and
Elie Ramanankavana to talk about the mother, Mama a!
THIS IS MY HOME, a selection of artworks from the Collection Yavarhoussen. An intimate, imaginary vocabulary of a home with no geography except that of lightness.
And last but not least, JOELY SY ANDY, an original dialogue between Andy Warhol and Joely, our Malagasy spokesman for contemporary era.
This inaugural cycle examines the notion of the family as a life force and source of inspiration, but also as a burden on
the expansion of our being.
May Hakanto Contemporary always breathe on our hearts and especially in our current time!
INAUGURAL SEASON
Histoires de famille
The exhibitions of the inaugural season are open to the public and free to visit
until March 16 . 2025
THE GRIEF . A monographic exhibition by Aude Onivola Rajaona
AVEC ELLES . A monographic exhibition by Alexandre Gourçon
LE CORPS DES VOLANTS À SIX ÉTAGES . A monographic exhibition by Jessy Razafimandimby
MOTHER . An exhibition with Asma Ben Aissa and Elie Ramanankavana
THIS IS MY HOME . A selection of artworks from the Collection Yavarhoussen
JOELY SY ANDY . An exhibition with Andrianina Rajoelisoa aka Joely and Andy Warhol
Hakanto Contemporary
ZFI . Ankadimbahoaka
Antananarivo . Madagascar
DANY BE
WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD
I see trees of green
Red roses too
I see them bloom
For me and you *
Dany Be wanted Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World to be played in his honor on the day he passed away. One of his favorite songs, he wanted this popular ballad by the American jazzman to be associated with his memory.
Recorded in 1967, this song sounded at the time like a peaceful and optimistic poem dedicated to life, at a time when the world was teetering on the brink of social and racial tensions, the morass of political ideologies and the ravages of armed conflict.
The image suggested by this song—that we share a common destiny in the face of all forms of threat—resonates with Dany Be’s vision of the world in general, and Malagasy society in particular.
Throughout his life, he had been a force of character—a mixture of courage, audacity and intransigence—when the context and the situation called for it.
In 1947, he witnessed the arrest of his father, founder of the newspaper La Grande Île, by the authorities and scenes of humiliation and violence when he visited him in prison.
Between 1955 and 1956, during his military service in the French Army, he was outraged by the humiliating attitude of one of his superiors who photographed the misery of the Malagasy population. The feeling of indignation caused very early on by these striking situations was to give Dany Be an aversion to all acts of repression and injustice. At the same time, it also drove him towards photography, with the desire to represent his island and its inhabitants in his own way.
From 1957, his interest in photography was gradually confirmed: Dany Be joined the Select Photo studio in Antsirabe, while working for himself on journalistic reports with a camera borrowed from his brother. In 1959, he found a job as a photojournalist with the newspaper Madagascar Dimanche.
Like his fellow photographers, Dany Be never studied journalism, however he became one of the front-runners of the field. He learned his trade on the job, in contact with his colleagues and other press professionals. He perfected his skills by travelling all across Madagascar and all over the world—from Africa to Asia and from Europe to Latin America.
So, he became one of the leading figures of Malagasy photography in the first decades of the Independence.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, his talent, reliability and integrity were recognized. The esteem of his peers was fueled by the respect he had himself for photojournalism and what he saw as its profound vocation: to take a committed look at the world. He was convinced of the impact of press images on public opinion, and he hoped that people’s awareness of a situation could evolve into a collective consciousness.
Conversely, any situation that has not been illustrated by images does not exist. All photojournalists share this same point of view, may it be war or a reality that would not have had a name without the committed work of photographers around the world. The example of the fight against Apartheid in South Africa, whose images were there to bear witness, is revealing of this political role.
Press images were rare at this time. We had to wait until the 2000s, with the global spread of the Internet and digital technology, which multiplied them ad infinitum, making them ordinary and obvious, whereas in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s—to take the years of Dany Be’s activity—they required a real commitment, both human and material (cameras, film, processing to reveal them and enlarge the images on paper was very expensive and not affordable to everyone).
From the beginning, Dany Be never hesitated to investigate, to go to the front in the exercise of his job as a photojournalist. He took risks that led to complications: conflicts with the police, arrests and imprisonment under almost every regime, his dismissal from the newspaper Le Courrier de Madagascar in 1971, and last but not least, the confiscation of his archives covering the ’60s and ’70s by the censorship police in 1983—around two thousand rolls of film that he never found again.
This exhibition shows 127 images by the photographer, most of them are unpublished. We have chosen not to dissociate Dany Be’s professional job as a journalist from his photographic work, but rather to draw parallels between these two aspects of his work.
Some series of images refer directly to specific contexts and fields, such as politics, social issues, sport or leisure; others are the expression of the photographer’s view of different places and spaces, situations and contexts, across the Island. Taken in both urban and rural areas, and even in isolated regions.
Dany Be’s photographs often reflect his sense of closeness with his surroundings.
In the expression of a humanist aesthetic, he captured moments and everyday life, taking portraits of people he knew or he came across anonymously and by chance.
Or simply put, he captured the spirit of his time.
Dany Be’s images rewind time by several decades. They take us back to major historical events which have punctuated the political, economic, social and cultural journey of Madagascar since the Independence in 1960. Above all, Dany Be’s extensive professional network enabled him to be at the heart of the action during periods of protest, change and transition.
Finally, combined with his personal story—marked by the ups and downs of his profession as a photo journalist—the photographs, whose aesthetic can be linked to the great currents of humanist photography, as we have just mentioned, show that Dany Be’s destiny walked hand in hand with the destiny of his country in many periods, thus making him an exceptional witness to Malagasy history.
Dany Be was already aware that the younger generations of his time were not familiar with Madagascar’s modern history. Along with his fight for freedom of opinion and expression, passing on knowledge to young people was one of his main concerns, particularly in the middle of his life. He was also one of the main driving forces behind the professional life of Malagasy photographers. With Revue Noire, he undertook to produce the first works on the history of Malagasy photography with Pierrot Men and Emile Rakotondrazaka (known as Ramily) at the end of the 1990s.
We would like to thank Dany Be’s family for their trust and active support, without who this exhibition would not have been possible. By highlighting Dany Be’s artistic, social and political commitment, we are attempting to pay the first major tribute to his photographic work.
Rina Ralay-Ranaivo . Jean Loup Pivin
April 2024
* Excerpt from the song « What a Wonderful World »
Louis Armstrong . ABC Records . 1967
Lyrics and music by George David Weiss and Bob Thiele
EXhiBITION
FROM MAY 4 . 2024
TO OCTOBER 26 . 2024
The first monographic exhibition of Daniel Rakotoseheno also known as Dany Be (1935-2021), a pioneer of photojournalism in Madagascar.
Curated by
Rina Ralay-Ranaivo and Jean Loup Pivin
in collaboration with Rado Rakotoseheno
HAKANTO CONTEMPORARY
Alhambra Gallery . Level 2
Ankadimbahoaka . Antananarivo
Madagascar
SEDRAN’NY TANY
MIALY RAZAFINTSALAMA
SOLO EXHIBITION
FROM JANUARY 6 TO APRIL 20 . 20204
Curated by
Joël Andrianomearisoa . Samuel Ramaholimihaso
OPENING
SATURDAY JANUARY 6 . 2024
3 PM TO 7 PM
As part of Hakanto Contemporary’s new exploration of the theme: Patriotic Land and Ecological Earth, we desired to grant an artist the opportunity to express their emotions and ideas on this matter through images. Thus, we present Mialy Razafintsalama, a photographer with her voice, in a new series titled Sedran’ny tany (The Trials of the Earth), a special commission she crafted along a journey from Antananarivo to Toliara, with the collaboration and support of Filatex Énergie.
Fa iza moa ianao ry Tany? Land who are you?
The first conversation with Mialy Razafintsalama was initially a persuasion exercise to convince her to talk about the land, her land.
Yes, it is always challenging to discuss one’s patriotism and even more complex to converse about ecology in today’s world where every act must be judged, measured, and evaluated.
But
Mialy Razafintsalama responded with a mischievous approach, eluding prejudices, playing on the concept of land both in her words and, even more so, in her images.
The photographic proposition is arranged around a duality in which she weighs up the pros and cons, the question, and sometimes the solution, yes and no, black and white, but above all the colors of life.
The journey begins in Antananarivo, crosses the road to the south of Madagascar and continues to Toliara. Along the way, she gleans earth that burns, converses with solar panels, and heralds a brighter future.
Mangily’s marine horizon questions the notion of the earth’s limits in confrontation with a thermal power plant.
The cactus, blossoming with hope as it faces the Isalo window to a brighter tomorrow.
…
The work presented is a throw from the heart to question one’s own senses, but also to summon the other to the question without a solution, perhaps…
Patriotic land and ecological land.
In the middle of these words, we find the line.
Irin’ny tany, sarin’ny tany, fofon’ny tany, feon’ny tany, endrin’ny tany, hiran’ny tany, tsiron’ny tany, sedran’ny tany…
sy ireo tarainan’ny tany rehetra.
The desires of the earth, the images of the earth, the scents of the earth, the voices of the earth, the aspects of the earth, the songs of the earth, the flavors of the earth, the trials of the earth…
and all the cries of the earth.
Let’s not try to understand each photograph, let’s turn the pages and look for the words in the in between.
The in-between times, the in-between airs, the in between lands.
Joël Andrianomearisoa . Samuel Ramaholimihaso
2024
Hakanto Contemporary
Alhambra Gallery . Level 2
Ankadimbahoaka . Antananarivo
Madagascar
LA NOUVELLE TERRE
GROUP EXHIBITION
FROM JANUARY 6 TO APRIL 20 . 2024
OPENING
SATURDAY JANUARY 6 . 2024
3 PM TO 7 PM
The artists
Amir Juvara Andrianalitiana (Amir.J)
Joëlle Aresoa (Joey Aresoa)
Aina Jo Harimanjato (Jo Aina)
Richianny Raherinjatovo (Richianny Ratovo)
Mbolatiana Raoilison (Clipse Teean)
Dreams always taste like our Land
Tena manembona izany tsiron’ny tany izany aho*.
Ary tena mamy izany akora vokatry ny tany izany** !
Unifions nos avis autour de la Terre, la Terre mère, la Terre patrie, la Terre terre***.
Prenons le goût comme principe universel pour converser****.
The taste of my land, motherland, our land just like a dream.
We are delighted at Hakanto Contemporary to write a new chapter, a new exhibition
LA NOUVELLE TERRE.
An exhibition on the notion of the patriotic Land, the ecological Earth.
A proposal we built up with the complicity of five artists. They are young but mature in their commitments.
These artists are Amir Juvara Andrianalitiana (Amir.J) . Joëlle Aresoa (Joey Aresoa) . Aina Jo Harimanjato (Jo Aina) . Richianny Raherinjatovo (Richianny Ratovo) . Mbolatiana Raoilison (Clipse Teean)
Patriotic Land, ecological Earth
It’s hard to separate these two notions, so let’s just swing between them. We knead that soil to create the pottery of the future, a soil torn between affection and desolation. A land hesitating in its search for modernity, but surviving in the fragility of the present time. A land that cries out in pain, but does it also sketch the birth of a new day? Yes, one must take care of its (native) land, but how? With which tools? How? Especially when sometimes the world is only an illusion.
Our guest artists are trying to place their gaze and their works in this context of uncertainty. Uncertainty, but deep conviction—the rightness of the Land lies in their hearts—in the intimacy of their soul and their works.
Water from daylight to nightfall
Richianny Raherinjatovo leads us through a delicate, disconcerting labyrinth. She leads us through a world of illusions, from the womb to the fearsome underground of the storm, but there is always light, always hope. Paint scratches the glass and the attitude taunts the moods.
Land when we when belong to you
Joëlle Aresoa invites us into the memory of her native land and into her new imaginary geographies. Her voice brings out the musicality of her emotion, between the hiakan’ny tany***** and her memories…
On a table, she draws the inventory map of her own existence.
Fire party
Inspired by several emotions, Aina Jo Harimanjato is an artist who represents the fire that ignites us in the beating rhythm of his artistic productions.
Videos, sounds, performances, clothes, paintings … the list goes on.
He has decided to move his entire house into the exhibition space to share with us his most intimate vision of patriotism.
The party will never stop in this house … and our land will be a real dancefloor!
Kilalao mainty or the black game
For the first time, Amir Juvara Andrianalitiana presents a new installation in which the darkness covers all the space, but his mood remains cheerful with an ecological hope. The charred wood reveals green light and on the walls his hand draws lines of life. Yes, we’re still alive!
Gone with the wind
Looking for the thing, that’s the motto of Mbolatiana Raoilison’s proposal.
Between the walls, between the earth and the sky—she invites us to feel the elusive wind that blows across the land of all our emotions.
Optical effect or illusion? We are the solution.
Humbly and sincerely, these five artists offer us their visions of the Land.
A playground that remains an enigma but we, for sure, have to take care of it.
With gentleness, with care
With tenderness.
Joël Andrianomearisoa . Rina Ralay-Ranaivo
2024
* I miss the taste of my land.
** The delightful products of the land.
*** Let’s gather our opinions about the Land, Mother Land, Home Land, Earth.
**** Let’s consider the taste as a universal principle when we are talking to each other.
***** The screams of the land.
Hakanto Contemporary
Alhambra Gallery . Level 2
Ankadimbahoaka . Antananarivo
Madagascar
Lamba Forever
Mandrakizay
EXHIBITION
FROM JULY 8 . 2023
UNTIL NOVEMBER 25 . 2023
Yesterday, here and now, forever and ever.
In any attempt of a cultural representation of Madagascar, the lamba is an indispensable component.
Lamba lamba lamba ary lamba ihany.
At the crossroads of all that the lamba can currently mean and represent, the LAMBA FOREVER MANDRAKIZAY exhibition sheds light on the immutable yet delicate nature of this fabric. Reflecting the spirit of projects undertaken by Hakanto Contemporary, it offers the public a multidisciplinary perspective and multiple visions on this textile piece, which is more than just a medium. The exhibition showcases the plurality of artistic approaches as well as the diversity of aesthetics. The artists it brings together all have a connection to the lamba, an object that alternates between fascination and experimentation, calling out the imagination but also fantasies.
By definition, the lamba is a geometric textile piece, often rectangular, made to be worn, lived with and used from the first day until the end and even beyond.
The collective usage of this piece of fabric, observed in photographs dating back to the late 19th century, extracted from the archives of the Foiben-Taosarintanin’i Madagasikara, reflects its immutable place in Malagasy society.
Material, weaving and emotions, a thread crossing through time and all Malagasy geographies
Traditionally woven in an artisanal manner with cotton, silk, or raffia, the lamba adorns the shoulders of Merina* women, wraps around the hips of Bara** men, and drapes the bodies of Betsileo*** throughout the seasons. Specific variations of this textile are also shared or offered to symbolize the strength of bonds which unite individuals in various occasions,
from joy to sadness.
In resonance with these usages, the use of lamba is equally prevalent in the Malagasy language. On one hand, it serves as a generic term to refer to various everyday textile objects, such as loincloths, tablecloths, blankets and and also curtains… On the other hand, lamba is present in popular expressions and proverbs, enriching them by illustrating the importance of fraternity, solidarity, life, love, and faith.
The lamba a premier aesthetic subject as a breath of life and inspiration
While photographer Kevin Ramarohetra confirms, through his series DORIA, the omnipresence of the lamba in the daily life of the Malagasy capital, Antananarivo, painters Emile Ralambo and Jean Yves Chen have sublimely captured from different angles this enduring relationship with textiles in their respective works. Despite several decades separating these two paintings, which have become classics of Malagasy art, the intention to convey the poetry of the lamba unites them. The first retains its gentle presence in a rural landscape in which the lamba plays a visual intrigue, while the second flawlessly reproduces the details of the iconic white garments of the Fifohazana**** community.
In other artistic proposals, the lamba is a surprising process. Madame Zo, whose weaving practice has been nurtured through a series of experiments, confronts us with the assembly of VHS cassettes turned into furniture. The thread of the movie therefore crosses another temporality .
Facing the chair, Joël Andrianomearisoa and Madame Zo confirm through their joint original installation FEHY MAINTY shown for the first time in Madagascar that the textile lamba is a game of the impossible desire … from a life in which the heel pierces the mirror to the thread hanging to shreds of drunkness.
These projects respond to the bemiray (patchwork) chapter of the exhibition. The lamba thus becomes assembly and memory to question an identity both personal but also communal.
The technical aspect found in Sandra Ramiliarisoa’s creation NY HENDRY NO ANARINA FA NY ADALA NO MANARY LAMBA made from polyfloss***** illustrates an endless enumeration of ways to twist, weave and knot.
In a more conceptual way, the bemiray nourishes Tsiriniaina Irimboangy’s approach in his installation SOMBIN-TANTARA, which brings together various elements taken from
his research on the lamba, initially inspired by the vivid memory of his grandmother wearing it according to Malagasy tradition.
Lambam-pianakaviana
What if lamba was the best representation, the ultimate symbol of family?
In his installation titled ANY DADA, naming the gone or late father, comedian and actor Gad Bensalem deconstructs the lamba and unravels its threads to narrate the story of young Doda in his quest for identity, recalling the memory of the women who raised him and the father he has never known.
Still within the realm of family, but in an architectural approach, visual artist Nadia Randriamorasata traces her genealogy and reconnects with the history of her origins in the creation of her piece 1997: she decides to erect an architectural ensemble as a tribute to family figures, notably her father, who now belong to the world of the ancestors.
Izay sahy maty ihany no mifono lambamena
In Malagasy culture, the lamba is one of the symbols that link the world of the living and the world of the dead: death is conceived not as a definitive end, but rather as a transition to the sacred space of the ancestors. Echoing this belief, the duality between life and death is evoked in the works of two visual artists. Christian Sanna’s photographs claim how textiles can be both garment of sensuality and adornment of worship, while the video piece titled OME by choreographer and dancer Nazaria Tooj expresses the idea of rebirth.
To wear the shroud of our desires and die in the shadow of our hopes.
In an imaginary theatre, a selection of pieces by emblematic designers illustrates the importance of savoir-faire. Here geographies don’t matter. H. Ranaivo exhumes the traditional shroud to create the tailleur of life. Christian Lacroix is embroidered by Malagasy hands. Clée Rabeharisoa and Charlotte Razafindrakoto, following their respective experience at Christian Dior and Balmain, dress the high society of the Highlands.
In resonance with these textile creations, the elegance of the subjects wearing the lamba, as captured by Ramilijaona and Rasolosonjatovo in their photographs, testifies to the sophistication surrounding this traditional attire.
Beyond the process of shaping, the lamba slips into whispers for our souls.
Writer Jean Luc Raharimanana weaves his memories, thoughts, and emotions into his novels, short stories, and essays. Far from the literary work we might have expected, the author of « Rêves sous le linceul » and « Tisser » presents for the first time a series of original drawings taken from his notebooks used in the preparation of his writings. Humble erasures in which he dresses his drives, undresses the resentments of a society and tears the veil of uncertainty.
… and I am crazy about you with your white lamba
Henri Ratsimbazafy, 1960
And when you dance to the party
You make so many head spin with your white lamba
From yesterday to today and forever, the destiny of the lamba is envisioned as an endless story. It will keep on captivating, inspiring and serving as a reference, and embracing limitless forms, forever, mandrakizay.
Joël Andrianomearisoa . Ludonie Velotrasina . Rina Ralay-Ranaivo
*Merina: People from the highlands in central Madagascar
**Bara: People from the southern plateaus of Madagascar
***Betsileo: People from the southern part of the highlands of Madagascar
****Fifohazana : Christian community preaching for a comeback of Malagasy origins
*****Polyfloss : Woolen thread obtained through recycling plastic waste
Mandrakizay: Forever, pour toujours.
THE ARTISTS
GAD BENSALEM . JEAN YVES CHEN . TSIRINIAINA IRIMBOANGY . CHARLES EDGAR LINCOLN . JOËL ANDRIANOMEARISOA . MADAME ZO . NAZARIA TOOJ . JEAN LUC RAHARIMANANA . ALPHONSE RAKOTOVAO . GASTON RAKOTOVAO . EMILE RALAMBO . KEVIN RAMAROHETRA . A. RAMIANDRASOA . SANDRA RAMILIARISOA . RAMILIJAONA . H. RANAIVO . NADIA RANDRIAMORASATA . RASOLONJATOVO . CHRISTIAN SANNA . CLÉE RABEHARISOA AND CHARLOTTE RAZAFINDRAKOTO
Curated by
Joël Andrianomearisoa . Ludonie Velotrasina . Rina Ralay-Ranaivo
In collaboration with
Akanjo . Association Des Médiateurs Culturels – Centre de Ressources des Arts Actuels de Madagascar . Collection Elia Ravelomanantsoa . Collection Nicole Rabetafika . Collection Rabeharisoa . Collection Yavarhoussen . Foiben-Taosarintanin’i Madagasikara . Fonds Yavarhoussen . Institut de Civilisations, Musée d’Art et d’Archéologie de l’Université d’Antananarivo . Mboahangy
Hakanto Contemporary
Alhambra Gallery . Level 2
Ankadimbahoaka . Antananarivo
Madagascar
Esprit Revue Noire
Une collection fondatrice
The photograph of a performance by Joël Andrianomearisoa makes the front cover of the Madagascar issue of Revue Noire, in 1997. A whole symbol renewed in 2022 with this exhibition ESPRIT REVUE NOIRE UNE COLLECTION FONDATRICE, at Hakanto Contemporary, in Antananarivo, more than twenty years later.
The magazine, the publishing house and production company were founded in 1990 by Jean Loup Pivin and Pascal Martin Saint Leon (both architects, artistic directors, curators), Simon Njami (writer and curator) and Bruno Tilliette (publisher and writer).
As a magazine of investigation of contemporary African expressions, marking the years 1990–2000, Revue Noire offers a new and unknown image of the vitality of creation, modernity, the profusion of arts and artists from Africa and its diaspora. Distributed around the world, the international bilingual magazine—French/English—plays an essential role in the history of contemporary African art and reveals many artists, from visual arts to photography, from cinema to dance, from fashion to design, as well as literature by bringing out a new generation of writers.
As a pioneer, Revue Noire was the first to reveal artists in terms of contemporary African art and more particularly African photography. This exhibition shown in Antananarivo is taken from the exhibition Africa by Africans which circulated from Paris (Maison Européenne de la Photographie) to São Paulo (Biennale), from Washington (Smithsonian) to New York (New Museum of Contemporary Art) via Cape Town, Berlin, London (Barbican) or even Brussels (Tervuren)… The book Anthology of African Photography, the Indian Ocean and the Diaspora (1998) which is associated with it and each issue of Revue Noire thus is the corner stone of a history of African photography.
In the 1997 the Madagascar issue, nearly twenty Malagasy photographers were published. Today, the Revue Noire exhibition in Antananarivo, curated by Jean Loup Pivin and Pascal Martin Saint Leon, naturally focuses on the history of African photography in 140 photographs, almost all of which are original and vintage. Videos produced by Revue Noire are broadcast while all of the publications of Revue Noire are on display so that the visitor can participate in the approach of Revue Noire.
Published quarterly, each issue draws up a panorama from an editorial committee established on site, country by country. Other issues deal with a more specific issue, linked to a discipline, photography, dance, fashion or societal phenomenon such as the city, cooking or even Aids which is devastating the continent. Engaging in this fight for survival, Revue Noire produced in 1995, when no treatment existed then, African artists and Aids composed of an issue of Revue Noire, films by African filmmakers, a CD, and a program that will be broadcast on African TV channels.
This “comprehensive” work by Revue Noire is very much in the spirit of its creators. It will be found in the exhibition African Suites in Paris in 1996 where visual artists, dancers, photographers, writers, performers will be gathered in an effervescent space and emancipated walk.
Today, the publishing house still exists and pursues publications and exhibitions, as most recently in Toulouse, at the Musée des Abattoirs, presenting the various facets of Revue Noire through publishing, art, photography, music, video. It is in the same spirit that the exhibition for Hakanto Contemporary was conceived.
Jean Loup Pivin and Pascal Martin Saint Leon
ON VIEW UNTIL
MAY 6 . 2023
The exhibition Esprit Revue Noire une collection fondatrice presents the works of the artists :
Joseph Moïse Agbojelou . Daniel Attoumou Amicchia – Anta agency . Cornélius Augustt Azaglo . BTEM-SGM-FTM Agency . Mama Casset . Jean Depara . Drum . Gahité Fofana . Samuel Fosso . Antoine Freitas . Dorris Haron Kasco . Rotimi Fani-Kayodé . Seydou Keïta . Philippe Koudjina . Zwelethu Mthethwa . Ambroise Ngaimoko Studio 3 Z . Yves Pitchen . Alain Nzuzi Polo . Ramilijaona . J. Randria . Joseph Razaka . Guillaume Razafitrimo . Studio Rill Maurille Andrianarivelo . Abdourahmane Sakaly . Malick Sidibé . Anonymous from Saint-Louis, Senegal
From November 26 . 2022 to May 6 . 2023
Curated by Jean Loup Pivin and Pascal Martin Saint Leon
Opening November 26 . 2022 at 2 PM
Hakanto Contemporary
Alhambra Gallery . Level 2
Ankadimbahoaka . Antananarivo
Madagascar
LA NOUVELLE MAIN
The new hand
Ilay tanana vaovao
GROUP EXHIBITION
UNTIL OCTOBER 22 . 2022
With the artists
Rose Kely Ranarivelo . Andy Rasoloharivony . Fitiavana Ratovo . Sanka
As the words flying on a blackboard, The new hand is a combination of sketches by four young Malagasy.
Are they artists or not? Will they become artists?
These are the questions raised! The intrigue!
Indeed, here it is not a question of becoming an artist, but rather of revealing their commitment to creation, their desire to project themselves into the forms of the present or tomorrow in the beautiful youth recklessness.
At Hakanto Contemporary today, we are proud to reveal to the public four young artists, emerging figures of the new Malagasy contemporary scene through monumental and new works produced especially for the exhibition.
Rose Kely Ranarivelo, Andy Rasoloharivony, Fitiavana Ratovo and Sanka first participated in workshops organized by Hakanto Contemporary. Meetings that are regularly scheduled to encourage dialogue and exchange between artists from different disciplines. And above all to reveal new energies.
Imagined as spaces for discussion and collective reflection, these meetings have not only helped to identify the four young artists of this exhibition, but also accompanied them in the development of their creativity. At this stage of their career, they are all still in seeking their own process. They continue to explore aesthetic possibilities through and from their own matters to the point of experimenting with other mediums and other forms. The specific mentorship they received in preparation for this exhibition emphasized the importance of maintaining this curiosity in each of their work approaches.
Since the beginning, these young artists are driven by the desire to take new steps in their work. They have a desire to move forward, as well as to find new directions for their work, to enrich it and give it new perspectives. These aspiring artists are looking for a way to get out of their own comfort, out of their rules and out of their solitude. Despite the uncertain context of the future, they are determined to pursue it. The desire to experiment, to express themselves or simply to exist on every gesture, proposal, and material.
Images, metal, terracotta, textiles, or paper … the materials are combined in contrast between confrontation and dialogue. They reflect a form of plurality which finds its genesis in the remarks of the works, all nourished by personal stories and social experiences of each one. This is what makes the charm and the spirit of the first artworks in general, and the quality of the pieces of these young artists in particular, they reveal themselves to the world as self-portraits of their authors. In the specific case of these installations, the strength of each proposal lies in this form of balance and accuracy, because there is no more delicate exercise than talking about oneself and one’s own universe, with the dilemma raised by the formulas and the representations.
TSARASAOTRA
Through her family history, Rose Kely Ranarivelo reinterprets through her piece a moment she particularly likes: Tsarasaotra. Through several mediums such as ceramics, wood, painting, the artist restores on a dreamt table the components of this family moment. Drawing on the essences of his dual French-Malagasy culture, the installation resonates with cultural and social references in terms of taste and aesthetics.
IRAY LALANA
To realize his work, Fitiavana Ratovo has adopted a popular technique of construction. This series of sculpted metal sheets installed as gallery portraits, represents the members of a community who share the same vision, the same values and the same future. Iray lalana—which literally means sharing the same path—sounds like a wish for a collective awareness of our society in crisis.
L’URGENCE DE LA FOI
Through the strength of the material and the power of the image, Andy Rasoloharivony invites and engages the viewer to step into a church to experience L’urgence de la foi. In a striking game of contrast, the artist illustrates strong symbols of the christian faith in the middle of a construction site. The natural daylight, which seeps into this mystical and sacred space, brings the experience to its climax.
IRETO MASO
MIJERY AHY
MIBANJINA ANAO
MAMPITAMBERINA
NY LASA
NY VITA NATAO
Sanka takes us into the depth and power of the eyes, the window to the soul. She presents a first work that emphasizes her long experience as a portrait drawer. This piece is composed of a series of original portraits and some sketches along the black entrance of the gallery. Through this installation, the artist recalls her beginnings in drawing.
The new hand, a drawing of the future full of uncertainty, but with the certainty of four young hopes with their desires to do and shape their time.
Joël Andrianomearisoa and Rina Ralay-Ranaivo
Hakanto Contemporary
Alhambra Gallery . Level 2
Ankadimbahoaka . Antananarivo
Madagascar
RAMILY
ILAY NANAO
NY MARAINA
Ramily who revealed the day
SOLO SHOW
FROM APRIL 30 . 2022
TO JULY 30 . 2022
Between a retrospective and a tribute, the exhibition is dedicated to Emile Rakotondrazaka, better known as Ramily or affectionately called Dadamily. Indeed, Ramily is the father of Malagasy contemporary black and white photography. The exhibition will be a moment to highlight the genius of a photographer, a pioneer of the black and white, and an outstanding laboratory worker.
EMILE RAKOTONDRAZAKA . RAMILY
Emile Rakotondrazaka, also known as Ramily or Dadamily, was born on September 25, 1939, in Antohomadinika, a district of the city of Antananarivo. The eldest of 10 siblings, he is the son of the carpenter Rakotozafy and Razanapanalina.
At the age of ten, in 1949, he was raised by Pastor Rasolonjatovo, whose son was a photographer. His first encounter with photography began when he followed his “adoptive” brother to carry out “identity card operations” in the towns and villages of Madagascar, whilst Madagascar was still under colonial rule.
In 1956, at the age of 17, Ramily worked as an assistant photo laboratory technician at PHOTOFLEX, located in Analakely, Avenue de l’Indépendance, and run by the French photographer Mesli d’Arloze. His talents in developing darkroom photography techniques began to draw his attention. His employer greatly appreciated his mastery of chemical processes, and Ramily excelled as a laboratory technician.
In 1968, he opened his first development laboratory—still very modest but already very well known—in the historic area of Ankadifotsy, in the basement of a bookstore run by his wife.
Two years later, in 1970, he moved to Itaosy, where he relocated his development laboratory, which had become larger and more sophisticated. A first for Madagascar, he then created a photography studio and later on, would even start a wooden framing workshop.
Between the 1970s and 2000s, Ramily successively exhibited in the premises of Air Madagascar, at the Albert Camus Cultural Centre (now the French Institute of Madagascar), at the CITE (Centre d’Information Technique et Économique [Technical and Economic Information Centre]), at Alliance Française de Tananarive and even in the streets of the city of Antananarivo, with a group of photographer friends. He has also participated in several editions of the Mois de la Photo, the Photoana Festival, and a biennial of photographic encounters in the Indian Ocean, which all took place in Antananarivo. On two occasions, the international magazine “Revue Noire” even devoted articles to him.
Ramily is also a founding member of two photographers’ associations including the “Association des Photographes de Madagascar” and the “Association des Photographes de Tananarive.”
Among his last public appearances, in 2007, he participated in an international exhibition of contemporary art, “30 et Presque-Songes” initiated by Joël Andrianomearisoa in Antananarivo.
An icon of photography, Ramily is the reference point for silver prints in Madagascar, with his career reaching its peak from the 1970s. He stopped his work as a laboratory technician in 2003, the year he suffered a heart attack. Ramily passed away on March 26, 2017, in Antananarivo, leaving behind hundreds of poetic landscapes, carefully crafted prints, black and white wedding and solemn event shots. Above all, he left an unprecedented passion for photography, generously shared with younger generations of photographers.
Hakanto Contemporary
Alhambra Gallery . Level 2
Ankadimbahoaka . Antananarivo
Madagascar
NY FITIAVANAY
OUR LOVE
NOTRE AMOUR
GROUP EXHIBITION
FROM OCTOBER 09 . 2021
TO MARCH 16 . 2022
Hakanto Contemporary
Alhambra Gallery . Level 2
Ankadimbahoaka . Antananarivo
Madagascar
Ny fitiavanay
Our love
Notre amour
Ry Tanindrazanay malala ô !
Ry Madagasikara soa,
Ny fitiavanay anao tsy miala,
Fa ho anao ho anao doria tokoa.Oh our cherished country!
Oh beautiful Madagascar,
Our love for you remains,
And will remain forever.
Following the tradition of nearly two years of exhibitions at Hakanto Contemporary,
we systematically question context, history and our present, and allude to the future.
For this new opus, while not turning our back on custom, our message revolves around the idea of nation – country – land.
And that past – present – future continues to set the tempo for this new musicality.
The land
We often speak of this red island, this scrap of country off a continent’s coast, out in the ocean, far from the world’s shore.
We.
We from the great ocean, as Serge Henri Rodin so appropriately insists.
Madagascar.
Surrounded by sea and still a great mystery.
Statement ? Questioning ? Love ? Distance ? Independence ?
The idea is not to provide answers, but rather to form an emotional observation using multidisciplinary formulae.
Actions in black and white leading to the assertion of a colourless flag.
Hearts torn to enable the ink of hope to pour out.
A song of love springing from religious effluvia.
Or possibly a family dish transformed into fireworks from the height of our pain.
There are various answers. Some lie in dialogue and some in confrontation, but also in tension.
Act of love Ny fitiavanay
So here is a declaration of love from 26 Malagasy artists to their dear land.
26 referring to 60.
26 artists.
60 years of independence.
How can we make the present with this anniversary? How can we break down history? Or reshape histories? And how can we tell the story of the future?
Reshape one’s history,
Michèle Rakotoson
Rewrite one’s memory,
Slip anchors,
Change one’s roots,
And build, build, again and forever.
Ny tena sy fo fanahy anananay
Our body, our heart and our soul
An echoing melody that allows hearts and souls to speak with boundless freedom.
Yes, let us speak, for it is time.
– Joël Andrianomearisoa . September 2021
Ry Tanindrazanay malala ô
Madagascar national anthem since 1958
Lyrics . Pastor Rahajason
Music . Norbert Raharisoa
Outside the walls
MALAGASY
Photographies by Rijasolo
Tsena Pochard
Lalana Ampanjaka Toera . Soarano . Antananarivo
Tomorrow
Photographies by Viviane Rakotoarivony
Lycée Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo
7, lalana Andrianampoinimerina . Analakely . Antananarivo
THE ARTISTS
Alizé . Malala Andrialavidrazana . Jean Andrianaivo Ravelona . Philippe Gaubert . Joan Paoly . Mat Li . MiMaDa . Môta Soa . Ndao Hanavao . Zahra Rabeharisoa . Fenosoa Rahajamalala . Viviane Rakotoarivony . Harivola Rakotondrasoa . Zoly Rakotoniera . Michèle Rakotoson . Emile Ralambo . Rina Ralay-Ranaivo . Maurice Ramarozaka . Antoine Ratrena . Fela Razafiarison . Ketaka Razafimisa . Rijasolo . serge henri rodin . Samoëla . Ludonie Velotrasina . Vonjiniaina