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Plexus International 1988
Plexus Serpent Artists Slaves Parade from the Medina to the House of the Slaves, Goree-Dakar

In August of 1988, Sandro Dernini arrived in the Medina of Dakar, guest of Assane MBaye, in rue 17 angle 8. There he performed  the re-materialisation landing from Sardinia of the Plexus toy boat with on board the Don Cherry’s Buddha statuette, the Nuraghic statuette and many other Plexus relics. In Dakar, the Pan African Festival FESPAC was cancelled as well as the invitation for Plexus International to come in Dakar in December. Anyway, without any supports, the Plexus art slaves voyage continued in direction to the House of the Slaves of Goree.  Assane MBaye brought Sandro with Langouste MBow to the mosque of  Touba, holy capital of the Mourides Islamic brotherhood, to meet the marabout Serin Karim M’Backe, to get his consensus to stage a theatrical art parade, from the Medina to Goree, performing the exile to Gabon of Cheick Ahmadou Bamba. He was the spiritual father and founder of the Mouridism Islamic religion, who was exiled by the French government during its colonialist domination in Western Africa. At Kre MBaye studio, prof. Okechukwu Odita, a Nigerian artist as well as art scholar from the Ohio State University, offered to produce a video documentation of the Plexus parade from the Median of Dakar  to the House of the Slaves in the Goree island.  At the Langouste MBow’s studio, located at the African Cultural Center Malick Sy, in avenue Blaise Diagne in the Medina, it was staged the video recording of the presentation of Plexus voyage to Goree made by Zulu MBaye, president of the national association of plastic artists of Senegal (A.N.A.P.S.) and by Youssouph Traorè, president of the Club Litteraire David Diop. There, around the person of the chief Pathè Diop, an art altar was made with Plexus relics and Langouste paintings, to perform the Plexus voyage towards the Kre MBaye’s studio. On August 26, from the studio of Kre MBaye, at rue 17 angle 8, in the Medina, a serpentine art procession parade of hundreds participants, carrying previous Art Slavery Manifesto group shots, performed ritually the historical exile to Gabon of Cheik Amoudou Bamba. The theatrical parade was directed by Omar Seck of the National Theatre Sorano. It  moved through the streets of the Medina to take the ferryboat for the island of Goree. The parade ended at the House of the Slaves in Goree. The Plexus Art Slavery Manifesto was presented to the Dakar Mayor’s representative, together with the Plexus proposal to open a World Art Bank in Goree, managed directly by the artists in the first person, outside the control of the artworld. Ritually, the Plexus Manifesto Art Slavery group shot ended the event.

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