The Ladybug’s mystical experience at “Rûh/Soul” exhibit by Maïmouna Guerresi

Queen Hathun (2015)

This time last year, just back from my second trip to Senegal, I attended one of the greatest exhibits I have ever seen in my life. In the intimate frame of the Officine dell’Immagine in Milan, a small exhibit completely turned me upside down. This is the proof that you don’t need a streamline exhibit to feel the art flowing in your veins and to have your soul impacted just watching a photograph: when it’s art it can happen anywhere, even in a small gallery but the artist, yes, the artist must be powerful.

Powerful is indeed the word that I would use to describe the Rûh/Soul exhibit by Maïmouna Guerresi.

Just a handful of her photographs holding on the wall completely floored me.

Yaye Fall (2019)

Red Balance (2018)

What Kind of (2016)

The main reason – I think – is the artist’s representation of women: the women pictured in her photographs represent the force of the African Muslim woman, The Great Mother, as she defines her. They are powerful, anchored to the Earth like a tree, light and soft as a cloud, they are one with Nature. I had fresh memories in my mind of these women, the African women that I met in Senegal. It is not a coincidence that Maïmouna Guerresi has Senegalese origins. But also Italian, and her mixed culture is clearly visible in her art: what a mistake to think that different cultures cannot perfectly mix to reach the supreme beauty!

Another reason that makes this exhibit so powerful is the clear feeling of divine peeking out of her photographs. To me this appears clearly in her photo Yaye Fall (honestly my favorite one), where the human being is the link between the Nature – the roots of the tree from which it elevates – and the highest divinity.

It is very hard for me to describe my feelings in front of Maïmouna Guerresi art. In that exact moment my first answer was silence. I was so overwhelmed by many powerful feelings that the only thing that I could do was just listening to them, feeling them and let them guide me to this almost mystical experience.

How many artists can do that?

PS: I wore a vintage dress found at a Vinokilo event in Milan and handmade jewelry from Afrohemien and Metalica.

Flow (2019)

Swing (2018)

The Ladybug gets color-blocked at Roy Lichtenstein exhibit

Roy Lichtenstein “Multiple Visions” was possibly one of the most interesting exhibits that I have visited in Milan this year so far. The exhibition took place this last spring/summer at the Mudec Museum and exposed around 100 prints, sculptures and tapestries from the king of the pop art, including also videos and photographs from many American and European private collections and museums. I also loved the decorations and the entire set-up: color-block printed walls, striped and polka-dotted floors, a blossoming of pop colors (and very Instagram-friendly!) in perfect harmony with the exposed art! It is not a coincidence that I took so many pictures, also outside the exhibit area, in the hall of the museum that is one of my favorite spaces in Milan for its modern architecture.

The pop art movement was born in the 60s and its first objective was to find a language that could be used against the abstract expressionism. The most famous pop art artists were the same Roy Lichtenstein and of course, Andy Warhol. Like him, Lichtenstein used daily objects in its art, as a representation of the economic opulence of the era; he often used advertising language to attack mass consumerism but he was also the first to use comic strips as a new artistic way to communicate. Comic strips were very simple, clear and easy way to communicate and he made them a real form of art. It is still a mistake to consider it as the only or main form of art that he used: during the exhibit it is possible to admire his multiple ways of expressions and to know more about this incredible artist.

For the visit I wore one of my favorite combos from Madame Ilary: a turban-culottes combination made with a golden sparkling Syrian fabric that I bought in Amman last spring. Such a shame that I didn’t have enough space in my luggage to buy more! I paired with a simple black tee from Asos and a pair of sparkling shoes from a Lazzari old collection. My golden necklaces are from & Other Stories and Afrohemien; my golden hoop earrings are from Genny Pi.

The Ladybug and her journey through African art in Milan

I remember that I was waiting for the train in the subway in Milan when I saw the poster of the newly opened MUDEC museum (Museum of Cultures) and of their opening exhibition “Africa, la terra degli spiriti”. My love for African culture and my curiosity for the new museum got immediately my attention even if it took me a while before finding the time to enjoy this experience, which happened about a month ago. I should have posted this earlier because the exhibition ended the 30^th of August but for those of you who missed it I can tell you that it was really a shame because the exhibit was totally amazing!

270 pieces of African plastic art were exposed, exploring the peculiar connection between humans and spirits in African art. The atmosphere of the place was magic, the sound and the music incredible which made this visit feel more like an exotic fairytale than just an exhibition visit.

For the occasion I couldn’t help wearing my beautiful handmade African skirt made by Madame Ilary with original African fabric mixed with the retro style of a circle skirt! I love this skirt so much because I think it says a lot about me and what I love. I wanted for it to be “the statement piece” of this outfit and this is the reason why I paired it with total black: a simple t-shirt from Cos and a pair of décolleté from 8 (that I replaced with Lolita Milano flats when my feet couldn’t walk anymore!!).