I Gogo Narrative

Gogo celebrates her body and invites you to join in her happiness

When people visit Africa, they are charmed by the people ; always smiling and moving elegantly. Rhythm is entrenched in the African DNA.

The moves of the late Tutu and Madiba have warmed many hearts worldwide In the African culture, big is recognised as beautiful, or as Lucille Clifton puts it : “ big black hips are something a woman would want to have and a man would desire.

“This is in stark contrast with other parts of the world where anorexic ideals are promoted by the fashion industry which more than often leads to psychological stress and identity crisis, even resulting in suicide.

Despite their weight, big dancing African women are way more elegant than their Caucasian counterparts.

These light-hearted, joyful, whimsical, colourful sculptures are a celebration of African warmth, happiness, friendliness and elegance.

Why the name ‘les Gogo “?

In Africa, ‘Gogo’ means : “origin“
In South Africa, it means ‘’Grandmother’’, a title that is used with respect.
Gogo, however, is also a style of dance music originating in the black communities of Washington DC and
which is characterized by a funk beat.
Gogo has a connotation of fun, swinging…. don’t take life too seriously.

Body positiveness

Body positivity focuses on the acceptance of all bodies, regardless of size, shape, skin tone, gender, and physical abilities, while challenging present-day beauty standards as an undesirable social construct.

Body-positive aims to challenge unrealistic ideals of physical attractiveness, build positive body image, and improve self-confidence. A central belief advocated is that beauty is a construct of society and that this construct should not determine one’s confidence or self-worth.

Love yourself to the fullest whilst accepting your physical traits.

Les Nanas

The body of work is inspired by the works of the French artist Niki de Saint Phalle (France 1930– 2002 ) In 1963 – 1964 she created a series of sculptures protesting stereotypical society roles for women . Over time, her figures became more joyful, whimsical, colourful and larger in scale.

She began to portray archetypal female figures with a more optimistic view of the position of women in society. The newer
figures took on ecstatic dance poses. By 1965 , she was calling her artistic expressions of the proverbial everywoman “Nanas” , after a French slang word that is roughly equivalent to ‘chick’.

I Gogo is also influenced by Homage to my Hips, by Lucille Clifton.

The Poem “Homage to my Hips” is a celebration of the writer’s body and femininity with a focus on her “big hips”. The poem is also a celebration specifically of Black womanhood, associating her self-onfidence and demand for dignity with freedom and independence in the face of oppression. She establishes big black hips as something a woman would want to have, and a man would desire.

She wasn’t the first one or the only one to reflect this community knowledge.
Clifton utilizes "homage to my hips" to celebrate the African-American female body as a source of power,
sexuality, pride, and freedom.

“Homage to my hips ‘ a poem BY Lucille Clifton

these hips are big hips
they need space to
move around in.
they don’t fit into little
petty places. these hips
are free hips.
they don’t like to be held back.
these hips have never been enslaved,
they go where they want to go
they do what they want to do.
these hips are mighty hips.
these hips are magic hips.
i have known them
to put a spell on a man and
spin him like a top!