Off the Earth

Artist: Aly Kourouma, aka DJ N'Debele

Donated by: Kate Auslen

Medium: Painted Metal on Wood Frame

Size: 48"x32"

Artist Bio:

WHO IS DJ NDEBELE?

Borders are a powerful illusion. More so in Africa than anywhere else. Dj Ndebele, aka Aly Kourouma is Fulani from his mother and Malinke from his father, Guinean by birth and Senegalese by adoption, raised with 4 different languages and went through the heavy French-catholic brainwashing education system. In that maze of cultural possibilities, the murals of the N'debele women of Southern Africa are a great inspiration to him in the way they merge tribal art with urban iconography. That fuzzy area between indigenous and urban cultures is his favorite playground.

DJ N'DEBELE IS NOT A DJ.

But his approach is very similar: To sample a piece of pop culture and re-examine it under different angles, find its universal component and bring it to the people in a way that generates a more immediate (sometime new) perception. His artist name also reflects his deep passion for music and its power as a tool for social change.

WHAT IS NEO PRIMITIVISM?

NEO-PRIMITIVISME reflects the deep belief that some of the issues challenging modern society can be solved if we are willing to integrate some of the timeless wisdom of the indigenous world into modern society. . . but more important, Neo Primitivism drops barriers between the indigenous world and its modern counterpart by stressing the universality of the human condition through the lens of pop culture.