it will be ok

By Sophie Kalagas

29 August 2018

After a terrorist attack, artist Joana Choumali turned to photography and embroidery to process and heal.

Joana Choumali is a fine art photographer living in Côte d'Ivoire (aka the Ivory Coast), one of the most populated French-speaking countries in Africa – and the site of a recent and tragic terrorist attack. Devastated that her “happy place” had been invaded with melancholy, Joana turned to photography and embroidery to process and heal after the attack, creating this rather stunning mixed-media series, Ca Va Aller, or ‘It Will All Be OK’. With intricate lines and striking colours, it explores the way Ivorian people deal with their suffering. She writes: “Each stitch is a way to recover, to lie down the emotions, the loneliness and mixed feelings I felt.” Art therapy at its finest. View the series (plus more from Joana) over here.