Two visual artists: Khaled Olufemi Mamah (Fhemy.raw) and Sambacor Konate (Le Jardin Jolof) discuss African art, fashion, photography, masks, history, and griot tradition in Mali and other parts of West Africa. They speak in the home of Le Jardin Jolof, a house filled with plants, masks, stools, wall pieces, and carvings. 

Le Jardin Jolof, a photographer, gardener, and designer, talks about his artistic development, inspiration, and practice. The origins and histories of masks matter to him as portals to the different communities they come from. He utilises found objects and family possessions to create work that speaks to a unique African identity. His name Le Jardin Jolof, which he expounds on in the conversation, encapsulates his passions and preoccupations—gardening, the need for undisturbed space to create, and the history of African kingdoms and peoples. 

Fhemy.raw, a photographer, began as a street photographer but found himself moving through the world of fashion, first as a model, then as a designer’s assistant, and eventually as a fashion photographer. He speaks of his work in distinctively collaborative terms. His interest in fashion photography bloomed through hanging out in circles of photographers and fashion designers. His work with Konate, one can tell, takes on a special delight for him because of the collaboration that birthed it. 

They speak keenly about division along caste lines in Africa and other exclusionary practices, ending on a note for Africans to work together, fostering practices of mutual support.