Maya Inès Touam occupied the Fondation H – Paris space from 1 March to 18 May 2021 as a creative studio and research site for a series of works to be developed in situ. From 19 May to 5 June 2021, the artist presented the exhibition Fil d’Exil, the culmination of this creative residency.
For this project, Maya-Inès Touam’s visual research focuses on the ways in which connections are woven around objects, fabrics and headdresses redefined by African diasporas — mainly from North and West Africa — living in France. The starting point of her reflection lies in textiles imported from, and brought back from, these regions: everyday utensils, ethnic markers, inherent to our histories and inscribed in French collective memory. These objects convey messages, a cultural heritage, and shed light on intertwined identities.
