Sama Ni Koro-kara
(The Elephant and the Tortoise), 2025

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Collage, Acrylic, Mosaic, Hand Engraving Sealed on Wood Panel

60 x 48 in | 152.4 x 121.92 cm

$32,000
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Rooted in the ancestral oral traditions of Mali, this piece draws from a cherished cultural tale—a story of friendship, shared labor, and the delicate balance of trust.

In the story, the Elephant and the Tortoise come together during a long drought to dig a well. Together, they fill it with water and fragrant spices, transforming it into a savory communal soup. But when the Tortoise returns to find the well dry, it embarks on a journey in search of the Elephant—who had taken it all for himself, leaving the well empty.

At its heart, this tale is about what it means to work together—and what is lost when we don’t, echoing an ancient Malian proverb: “One finger cannot pick up a rock.” It speaks not only to the need for cooperation, but to a deeper truth—that our lives are bound together. This piece is a visual reminder of that profound interconnectedness.

The Elephant and Tortoise themselves are composed of intricate layers of plants and animal life—symbols of the natural world and our shared ecosystem. They represent how all life is entangled, and how no being exists in isolation.

The all-white mosaic background evokes the sacred, meditative process of building something piece by piece—together.

Swirling wind patterns carved into the surface draw from traditional Malian bogolanfini (mud-cloth) motifs symbolizing unity and collective effort.

Along the outer border, the story is hand-inscribed in N’ko—a script rooted in the Mandé languages—honoring both the written and spoken traditions that carry ancestral knowledge forward.

At the foot of the Elephant, a small silhouetted boy gazes upward. He is the listener, the inheritor of stories—the bridge between past and future. He represents the ears that carry folklore forward, reminding us that every tale shared today becomes a seed planted for tomorrow.

As we say in Mali: “The seed belongs to the one who plants it, but anyone can sit in its shade.”
This work is an offering—a preservation of ancestral wisdom through contemporary form. It is a call to remember the power of shared effort, and the importance of storytelling in sustaining culture, identity, and collective memory.
 

OTHER AVAILABLE WORKS

Ba, 2025

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Light box. 1 of 1.
30 x 40 in | 76.2 x 101.6 cm

$5,000 - SOLD
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