Abu Bakarr Mansaray

Why this artist matters now

Abu Bakarr Mansaray was born in 1970 in Tongo, Sierra Leone. Although he left school in 1987, Mansaray has always been an autodidact and studied science and engineering in textbooks. Combining the popular central African practice of creating decorative objects and toys out of iron and wire with what he learned from his studies, Mansaray began building functional, futuristic machines. He creates both practical and extravagant contraptions which can produce dire, water, light, sound and more. Mansaray’s preparatory studies for his machines are works of art in their own right. They are executed in colored pencil and ballpoint pen and are annotated with his commentary and calculations.

Source: Sothebys · Trust score: 100% · Updated 2mo ago