Ti Wara mask, Mali, c. 1980

The Bambara or Bamana (blacksmith) sculptors are very famous for their zoomorphic masks of antelopes or gazelles. This type of mask is used by a secret society whose name is: Ti Wara or Tji Wara or Ci-wara. Ti Wara is the phonetic translation of Ti (work) and Wara (animal). The Ci Wara people use these masks on at least three occasions a year: - Agricultural competition - Fun - Annual festival Antelope masks were danced in pairs. According to one interpretation, the male antelope represents the sun and the female the earth. Height: 64.5 cm Reproduced: Catalogue “Africa Babel: the Art of a Continent”, p. 227
 
Exhibitions:
2022-2024 Island of Fuerteventura “Art Africa: Ancestral Light”. Lighthouse of the Entallada. Cabildo of Fuerteventura.
2021-2022 Panama City. Government of Panama. “Art Africa: the spirit of the ancestors”. Ministry of Culture Headquarters. Casco Viejo.
2019-2020 Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Caja Canarias Foundation. “Africa-Babel: the art of a Continent”. Headquarters Plaza Patriotismo.
2013-2015 Museum of Art of Africa and Oceania (Madao). La Granja de San Ildefonso, Segovia.
2005 “Black Africa”, Leather Museum.
2004 “Black Africa”. Caixa Laietana Foundation, Barcelona. Main exhibition hall