We followed the cotton thread to Senegal to meet people who master weaving and to share with them the challenge of the complex patterning of Cabo Verde’s Pano d’Obra. In Dakar, the team was welcomed by the artist and textile designer Johanna Bramble at her studio, where we had the opportunity to talk with her team, Jean Paul Mendy, Jo Pereira, Patrick Tendeng, Sarah and Antoine Diédhiou. Observing the looms and the processes of building the patterns opened up space to analyse together a Pano d’Obra brought from Santiago. The complexity of the patterning, the thickness of the threads and the quantity and quality of raw material required made the challenge of its reinterpretation all the more evident.
In the north of Senegal, in Saint-Louis, surrounded by the sea, we met Mäi Diop. The master weaver is a researcher who has been passionate about traditional Cape Verdean panaria for several decades. Mäi opened her studio so that we could get to know her project and the team that works with her, Patrick, Papiss, Assan, Wali and Binta. The visit was a moment of sharing her immense knowledge of the Pano d’Obra and its patterns. The Pano d’Obra was analysed together, in dialogue with other pieces, techniques and weaving experiences. The visit allowed us to delve deeper into questions of thread quality, natural dyeing and the transmission of the knowledge associated with traditional panaria.
The journey ended with a visit to the south of Senegal, Sine Saloum, where we met the textile artist and weaver Fatim Soumaré. Based in Djilor, Fatim guided us through her weaving and art studio and introduced part of the Falé team, Khady Gning, Marie-Louise Bakhou, Joã Diop and Linda da Silva. The studio allowed us to follow different stages of cotton processing and to understand how hand-spinning, carried out by more than a hundred women from the neighbouring islands, connects with weaving and the production of the Falé pieces. We went on to two of the islands where Fatim works with different groups of women spinners. With them, we shared spinning practices and learned processes that make the work easier. It was a moment of passing on know-how, and of great tenderness too. An unforgettable experience.