Une sieste à Porto-Novo, 2022

In "Une sieste à Porto-Novo," Chloé Quenum captures a fleeting moment—a sliver of stillness that feels as much like a memory as it does a dream. The woven mat, with its earthy tones and intricate patterns, becomes both a surface and a portal, inviting us to reflect on what it means to pause, to belong, to exist between worlds. At its center, a fragment of a body peeks through—a quiet, intimate gesture that anchors us in the present while evoking echoes of another time, another place.

This work carries the essence of Porto-Novo, Benin’s capital, weaving together cultural memory and personal connection. The mat—both functional and symbolic—becomes a metaphor for the diasporic experience: layered, hybrid, suspended between tradition and transformation. Quenum’s art transforms this everyday object into something alive, something that speaks to the journeys we take and the stories we carry.

As part of her “Wonder, Wander” exhibition, this piece reflects Quenum’s gift for creating spaces where viewers can linger, wander, and wonder. Her practice consistently draws from cultural symbols, recontextualizing them to explore identity, movement, and the intersections of the personal and collective. The fragmentary nature of this work mirrors the diasporic condition itself—a state of being that is never fixed, always shifting, always in negotiation.

Standing before "Une sieste à Porto-Novo," we are reminded of the beauty in stillness, the richness of hybridity, and the resilience of stories that bridge time and place. It invites us to step into its quiet, to feel its warmth, and to reflect on how we, too, carry pieces of home with us, even as we create new ones. In its simplicity lies a profound complexity—a testament to the power of art to hold the weight of memory, belonging, and transformation.

Exhibition: Everything previous..., 2024

“Heure Bleue,” Quenum’s commissioned work, consists of a monumental reproduction - at scale 1 - of a bay within the Arsenale. It features a freestanding window (418 x 353 cm) with panes made of blown corded glass. Suspended from the beams are glass instruments forming a silent orchestra, floating between the architectural window of the pavilion and its spectral replica. These instruments, once stored at the Musée du Quai Branly, were played in different groups—Fon, Yoruba, Bariba—part of Dahomey’s kingdom, connecting the installation to sounds and chants related to the Amazone parades.

The replication of these instruments enhances their aesthetic appeal and adds a new layer of meaning that echoes their complex histories. It explores shifts in meaning and value as objects traverse cultural and temporal boundaries.

The use of glass by Chloé Quenum is not merely anecdotal; it has strong ties to the slave trade in West Africa and is connected to the exercise of power. Murano glass beads were used for bartering throughout the entire period of the Atlantic trade. Blown glass crafted conveys irregularities, cords, and bubbles; its materiality distorts perceptions of reality. This particular glass, known to have been used for colonial architectures, can be found in historical manufactories under the name of “colonial glass.”

"It is important for me to mark Benin’s first presence at the Venice Biennial, a city of trade and exchanges, drawing attention to questions of gazes, temporalities, transmissions and circulation. L’Heure bleue is the moment at twilight when thing are getting hard to discern for the sight. This installation is an invitation to take the time to consider the multiple layers of history, and narratives, at the rythm of the changing daylight.