Mama Afrika is a performance in which two virtuosos in their respective fields—the Polish cartoonist Wozniak and the Spanish drummer, Ramón López, both of whom now live in France—bring their similar sensibilities to bear, in their own unique way, on what Africa means to them.
Wozniak, a celebrated drawer of stories, always dreamt of marrying drawings to music, and has worked on different types of project (books, records, animations) with musicians including Manu Chao and Archie Shepp. López, a virtuoso jazz and avant-garde drummer, is also well-known for his collaborations with artists in other fields (actors, choreographers, visual artists).
And that’s how they came to embark on this journey together! The seven stories Wozniak drew especially for this performance, and which were subsequently directed and brought to life by Marjorie Guigue, serve to stimulate and delimit Ramón López’s performance. Then, in a game of spiraling improvisation, Wozniak replies to López, projecting what he draws in real time on the screen.
In Mama Afrika, Wozniak and López meet ‘in action’ to create a poetic performance of reality and truth. Like two wandering tightrope-walkers who have decided to take off their tinted spectacles and look at Africa as it really is. The rhythm responds to the image, and the image engages with the music swept up by the colours, rhythms, words and pain of Africa.
Ramón López: drums
Wozniak: cartoons
