Pélagie Gbaguidi on view at Haus der Kulturen der Welt
The exhibition ‘Tirailleurs: Trials and Tribulations’ brings together works by more than thirty international artists across generations, including fourteen new commissions. Included in the show is Pélagie Gbaguidi’s installation ‘The Architecture of Courage’ (2026) which uses hand-woven fabrics, the pagne tissé, traditionally used in clothing in Senegal, whose patterns and colours carry rich social, cultural, or spiritual significance. These ceremonial textiles create a connection with the long-overlooked role of the Madame Tirailleur. These women were socially connected to the Tirailleurs as wives, companions, relatives, and in some cases as fellow soldiers. Their lives and labour were fundamental to sustaining the networks of resistance and survival under colonial war conditions. The wooden rods reference the tools of the women warriors of the Kingdom of Dahomey in present-day Benin. Known as the Mino (Fon: ‘our mothers’), these warriors fought on the front lines during the Franco-Dahomean Wars (1890–94), defying gender norms and becoming symbols of courage, strength, and loyalty. With ‘The Architecture of Courage’, Gbaguidi creates a space of remembrance dedicated to the resilience, care, and solidarity of the women. The collages of fabric and drawings coalesce into visual narratives where life, birth, and death intertwine. The organic, fluid structure of the installation suggests that history is an ongoing, dynamic process. To renegotiate its significance for the present, long-suppressed perspectives are recalled through the griotte’s practice, beyond the limits of written evidence.
