Labaraque Gallery presents Et si on prenait le temps… d’être présent, the first solo exhibition of interdisciplinary Ivorian artist Keren Lasme. On view at Labaraque Gallery from April 7th through May 17th, 2023, the exhibition is an ode to solitude, contemplation and the art and act of being present. Through still images, an immersive video installation and a book installation, the artist asks what does the Earth communicates about her states of being and becoming?

She takes a meditative and surrealist approach to answering this question and invites the viewer to see the mundane and the everydayness of life from different angles: one that is enchanting and the other one fantastic. Her work takes cue from Exousiance: A Black Feminist Vision of Power and Nature, an essay in which writer Minna Salami discusses the fabulist and otherworldly characteristics of nature.

Thus, Keren Lasme stitches worlds together creating portals into the natural world to invite ease and peace, to elevate the mind and calm the spirit. She creates healing and hypnotic imageries that capture the pulse of the Earth by exploring rhythm in nature through patterns, movements, sound and light.

The curated books from the installation serve as a way to contextualise her work and offer a multitude of perspectives on how it can be read. From spirituality to poetry, sacred medicine to surrealism the artist spotlights the works of Jorge Amado, Maryse Condé, Sobunfu Somé and Jean Cayrol to cite a few.

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