Granite art impresses tourists and residents at Laongo symposium, Burkina Faso

Seventeen sculptors from nine African and European countries enjoy gathered within the village of Laongo, located 35 km from the capital of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou.

They’re attending the 14th international granite sculpture symposium, which kicked off on October 11th.

The utilization of a jackhammer and grinder, Malian artist Indépendance Dougnon, participating for the first time, is aiming to reduce a section representing appreciate and coexistence.

“My work speaks of coexistence, represented through two characters of opposite genders who are close together,” Dougnon says. ”It is important to spread love everywhere. It is a beautiful experience for me to meet other artists and exchange ideas.”

A ragged of three symposiums, Burkinabè sculptor Karim Tapsoba has chosen to discuss communication by means of ancestral traditions. “In the tradition of communication from mouth to ear, that’s the tradition of oral communication, and given the evolution of modernity and communication, we now have antennas that really promote and expand communication,” he says.

The Laongo jam has now turn into an commence-air museum for traffic. Visitor Parfait Zongo says, “These sculptures allow people to reflect on the past, the present, and even the future. It’s a very good thing because it helps people get to know the artists’ work, and also allows visitors to appreciate or learn a lot.”

For the organizers, the initial aim became to carry artists collectively to circulation away their mark on the rocks. It has transformed Laongo into a must-seek the recommendation of with tourist jam in Burkina Faso.

“Coming into the bush, meeting granite outcrops, and leaving our imprint on them for future generations was, for me, like a mission,” the founder of the symposium, Siriky Ki, says. ”Today, Laongo has become a tourist destination that receives visitors all year round.”

Since 1988, greater than sixty artists enjoy expressed themselves on the granite of Laongo. Because the symposium nears its conclusion, over 2,000 works provide an extra special spectacle to thousands of of us.