Teng Guedj

A face in profile emerges... the face of the emperor and navigator Bakari II, who is thought to have ruled over the Mandingo Empire in West Africa in the early 14th century. According to oral tradition, Bakari II and his men set sail from the coast of Gambia to reach the other side of the Atlantic.
Never to return, some believe he may have reached the Americas nearly two centuries before Christopher Columbus. This legendary figure from African history is portrayed smoking a pipe, a symbol of power. His face blends into a geographical map where two traditional inscriptions mark ports in present-day Senegal. The continents are depicted in blue, while the ocean becomes the face of the mythical ruler, created using the batik technique with a wax tint.