Biography

Tiécoura N’Daou is a multimedia artist and researcher who graduated from the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers Multimédia in Bamako. His talent is deployed in a plural practice centred around multimedia, video and photography. 
He divides his life between research and different experiences in the fields of art, photography, cultural journalism, video and film production. Strongly rooted in Malian cultures and traditions, he closely follows technological developments while trying to combine them with tradition. 
His professional and artistic career is punctuated by several exhibitions and residencies around the world such as the Sesc_Videobrazil Contemporary Art Biennial in Sao Polo, the African Digital Innovation Festival in Johannesburg, the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students in Russia and the Rencontres Africaines de la Photographie in Bamako.

DAMA (2017)

In the film DAMA Tiécoura N’Daou presents an important funeral ceremony of the Dogon people in Mali. The artist shows a ritual with several protagonists wearing traditional masks during the burial of a patriarch. The purpose is to accompany the dead to the realm of the dead. The incorporation of the forest spirits with the masks honours the dead through this dance, called Lady. It is believed that the path to enter the realm of the ancestors is facilitated by the dance, along with songs and percussion instruments.
The dancers wear masks that represent the different members of Dogon society such as the carpenter, the virgin, the neighbours and the animals in their sacred character such as the antelope, the monkey and the hyena among others.
In a moment of celebration, the dancers throw seeds into the ground inviting the children to a sacred planting. This gesture invokes the continuity of life and the future of the community.