0:28 I am Maya Freelon Asante and I’m here at the US Embassy in Madagascar installing
0:33 my artwork Ubuntu which is a sculpture inspired by the idea that I am because we are, meaning
0:41 that one tiny scrap of tissue paper may seem insignificant but when it’s combined with
0:49 many others there’s strength and power.
0:58 It’s inspired by my grandmother who was or is an amazing woman and I believe is an
1:10 artist in her own right, but didn’t have the opportunities that I do. So for her in
1:17 her lifetime to see me work at such a massive scale is really exciting for her.
1:32 My grandmother, she really influenced a lot of this work, I found the tissue paper actually
1:49 folded into her basement and I used that as a vehicle to share the connectivity of quilt
1:59 making and tissue paper along with the textile and fabric work here in Madagascar.
2:25 ASANTE, CLIP: Getting down to the safety level!
2:40 ASANTE, CLIP: Those are both 5×7.5?
2:47 OFF CAMERA: Yeah.
2:55 ASANTE, CLIP: Okay.
3:03 ASANTE: It’s been around the world, that’s the amazing part. It’s been from Ghana to
3:13 Maine. This work has been in North Carolina, New York, San Francisco, it’s on a constant
3:24 journey. But now it’s got a final resting place here
3:43 in Madagascar.