Material Memories – Marie-Claire Messouma Manlanbien

This fall, we kick off a new series of exhibitions featuring international rising stars with Material Memories. Following presentations at leading venues such as the Palais de Tokyo, this marks the first solo museum exhibition of Marie-Claire Messouma Manlanbien (1990) in the Netherlands. In monumental installations made from materials like textiles, copper, organic substances, and crystals, the artist connects times, cultures, and traditions, making care tangible.

Manlanbien grew up between Paris, the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, and Abidjan in Ivory Coast. This background is crucial to the way she works with material. For her, materials are not neutral raw substances but carriers of memories and meanings. She uses traditional weaves in her own unique way, incorporates plants whose medicinal uses she learned through her family, and copper reminds her of the workshops of her father and uncles.

The exhibition invites you to reflect on what a body remembers, how we care for each other, and what we pass on to future generations.