Hamed Ouattara (Furniture, Burkina Faso)
Hamed Ouattara: Cabinet © courtesy David Crookes for Design Network Africa– Featured in Contemporary Design Africa © Thames & Hudson
Hamed Ouattara is a furniture designer and artist from Burkina Faso, who uses his work as a comment against cheap imports that so often end up having a detrimental effect on a country’s local industry and creative heritage. Ouattara set up his studio, Hamed Design, in 2000 as a platform to introduce international audiences to visual art from his country. Outtara mainly works with scrap metals and other discarded materials, turning them into functional furniture and interior accessories that bear the markings of their former life. Through his studio, Ouattara and his team have also dedicated time to training the next generation of Africa’s design talent.
