{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1749965"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1749965/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2023NM3480/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2023NM3480/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2023NM3480","copyright":"© Victoria & Albert Museum","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2023NM3479","copyright":"© Victoria & Albert Museum","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2023NM3481","copyright":"© Victoria & Albert Museum","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2023NM3482","copyright":"© Victoria & Albert Museum","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2023NM3483","copyright":"© Victoria & Albert Museum","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2023NM3484","copyright":"© Victoria & Albert Museum","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2023NM3485","copyright":"© Victoria & Albert Museum","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2023NM3486","copyright":"© Victoria & Albert Museum","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2023NM3487","copyright":"© Victoria & Albert Museum","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2023NM3488","copyright":"© Victoria & Albert Museum","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2023NM3489","copyright":"© Victoria & Albert Museum","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2023NM3490","copyright":"© Victoria & Albert Museum","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1749965","accessionNumber":"W.10-2023","objectType":"Chair","titles":[{"title":"Noir sur Noir (Black on Black)","type":"assigned by artist"}],"summaryDescription":"This sculptural chair is designed and made by the Senegalese artist and maker, Balla Niang (1980-). It is made from reclaimed ebony sourced locally in Rustique, a suburb of Dakar.  \n\nNiang's design and making process derive from 'a profound desire to keep our impact on nature as low as possible; to use, and expand creatively, local traditional craftmanship; and to transmit the cultural connotations that emanate from the material we use'. Only reclaimed materials are used such as wood, skin and horn which Niang believes carry a meaningful, positive 'aura' which causes us to reflect on our own relationship with the natural world. He also seeks to challenge local traditions where only specific social groups have been engaged with the craft of furniture making.\n\r\nNiang was trained in metal work, carpentry, tanning and carving by his older brother Babacar Niang (1964-2015) and local craftsmen who work in Rustique. Babacar was a self-taught artist, sculptor and designer as well as a prominent member of Design Network Africa (DNA) and founded the Nulangee Design studio in 2002. He was acclaimed for his powerful anthropomorphic designs, including his most famous work, the ‘vertabrae’ chair. In response to the deforestation on the African continent Babacar only worked with locally sourced wood that had been discarded, either due to forest fire, human use or natural causes. \n\nThe making process involves working directly with the material as Niang assembles found pieces of wood into objects made for sitting. While the pieces can be seen as sculptures, they always have a practical use and are built to hold the weight of a person. Niang works with the minimal amount of natural materials to make his pieces such as wood, cattle horn and leather and relies on traditional construction techniques to join the different elements together. Wood is curved using a traditional technique involving the heat of the fire.\n\nNiang's work is profoundly influenced by a number of sources including Sahelian beliefs and Senegalese culture, animist and Sufi cultures, yet attempts to transcend them to achieve 'something new'. With this in mind, his chairs conjure up notions of anthropomorphism, coming across as characters rather than inanimate objects. His work has been exhibited in arts events and galleries across Africa and Europe and he has taught at the École Boulle in Paris. ","physicalDescription":"A black sculptural chair made from reclaimed ebony.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Niang, Balla","id":"AUTH392481"},"association":{"text":"Maker, Designer","id":"x30792"},"note":"See Balla Niang's interview in late 2023 in the Registered File for more information on his practice."}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"ebony","id":"AAT12055"}],"techniques":[{"text":"furniture making","id":"AAT53606"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Wood is sourced by networks of people and families in the bush after fires or storms.","categories":[{"text":"Furniture","id":"THES48948"},{"text":"Africa","id":"THES49019"},{"text":"Anthropomorphism","id":"THES252998"},{"text":"Sustainability","id":"THES285124"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"FWK","id":"THES48597"},"images":["2023NM3480","2023NM3479","2023NM3481","2023NM3482","2023NM3483","2023NM3484","2023NM3485","2023NM3486","2023NM3487","2023NM3488","2023NM3489","2023NM3490"],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"133","id":"THES49881"},"free":"","case":"BY11","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"chair","id":"AAT37772"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"No","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Senegal","id":"x38604"},"association":{"text":"Made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"2022-2023","earliest":"2022-01-01","latest":"2023-12-31"},"association":{"text":"Made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"75","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"45","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Depth","value":"42","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"Measurements taken from gallery website entry not from object itself.","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"The chair was made by Balla Niang in his studio in Rustique.","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"'Noir sur Noir' (Black on Black) chair designed and made by Balla Niang in reclaimed ebony, 2022-2023.","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"Balla Niang made this sculptural chair out of reclaimed ebony.  He worked with members of the local community to gather the discarded hardwood, often found on the ground or collected following a bush fire. The Senegalese artist and maker believes that natural, found materials carry an ‘aura’ which helps us to reflect on our own relationship with the natural world. ","date":{"text":"19/11/2025","earliest":"2025-11-19","latest":"2025-11-19"}}],"partNumbers":["W.10-2023"],"accessionNumberNum":"10","accessionNumberPrefix":"W","accessionYear":2023,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-11-19","recordCreationDate":"2023-03-26","availableToBook":false}}