A Review: Spirituality and Healing: The visionary art of Fallou Wadje at Calabar Gallery

By Irene Curatella

Fallou Wadje is a Senegalese artist and fashion designer living in Harlem, who owes her name to the centuries-old tribal and spiritual practice established by her great-grandfather Maam Cheik Ibrahima Fall.  This introduction to her origins is very important to understand her artistic vision: the fusion of spirituality and art. The last one is considered as a healing tool, not only for the artist itself, but also for all those people who happen to admire her works, where she combines traditional Senegalese elements with those of life in Harlem. Although the artist has only started two winters ago to devote herself to art, the works in this exhibition entitled FALLOU WADJE: HARLEM AND BAAY FALL DREAMS, are already characterized by distinctive features, such as the use of color, bright and vivid, and their abstract character. It is also necessary to dwell on technique, the mixed media and the medium used, the digital print and the tapestry.

Above: Purpose Path and Vessel

The Mix Media art is an art form that mixes different artistic and decorative techniques which the main purpose is the strong component of personal expression, which is almost subjective, which can lead to symbolic significations.
The artist’s work can be identified in a few major thematic groups such as spiritual and personal growth, which we can find in the work “Purpose Path” (41x 34 inches), that explores the theme of the “third eye” and spiritual ascension; on the other hand, in “Vessel”(41 x 31 inches), we talk about being “chosen” and receiving spiritual light, like the artist says in the quote “U are chosen To Be. And then, U receive Light”. Another of them is related to natural elements and we can find it in works such as “Macca” (31×25 inches) in which the artist explores the relationship between water and greenery, or again in “Sahara Frequency”, a tapestry made in large mixed media (34×62 inches), in which the artist leaves a quote about finding water, love and peace in the desert, a work in which se combines African elements with universal messages, such as the reflection on the desert as a metaphor
for the inner quest.

This solo exhibition can be visited until December 18th, 2024, at the Yard at Columbus Circle, 33 West 60th Street in New York, and is curated by Atim Annette Oton, a Nigerian-born, American and British educated designer turned curator, she is also director of Calabar Gallery, which is based in the Lower East Side and exhibits contemporary works of African, African Americans and Caribbean artists with the aim of making them know globally focusing on that idea of dynamism of art and society.

In conclusion, this exhibition represents much more: it is a testimony of how cultural roots can flourish in new contexts, creating a dialogue between tradition and modernity. Her ability to blend elements of Senegalese spirituality with the energy of Harlem, using the contemporary language of digital art, creates a unique and universally accessible experience