Senegalese designer and artist Diarra Bousso standing next to the mannequins bearing the garments she made as part of her exhibition at the 2024 Dakar Biennale.
Before Diarra Bousso became a multidisciplinary artist and the brain behind the renowned sustainable fashion brand Diarrablu, she was first a mathematician. After leaving her home country of Senegal to study at an international school in Norway, Bousso, who only spoke French and had trouble assimilating to the mostly English-speaking crowd, found a vocabulary in mathematics, “Mathematics was the only language I could speak fluently,” she tells OkayAfrica.
Bousso, who was just 16 then, remembers experiencing an epiphany about the dynamism of mathematics as a language. “It doesn't matter where I am in the world, everybody speaks maths, and all the equations have the same solutions no matter the country, so it became a safe place.”
What started as a way to make sense of her world and find a language has become an integral part of her artistry and the primary element in the work Bousso is currently showing at the 2024 Dakar Biennale. This is Bousso’s first physical exhibition and somewhat formal entry into the art world.
The work is titled Woven Equations, and it sees her apply the creative technique of designing with mathematical equations to create unique pieces that explore “Africa’s rich mathematical heritage and its often-overlooked influence on global art and design, particularly through the 'Ndar' print — a signature motif in Bousso’s work,” according to the show’s official press release.
“Instead of painting a flower, I would use equations to graph a flower. Or instead of drawing stripes, I would use equations to create the patterns of the parallel lines that create the stripes,” Bousso says of the simple yet brilliantly inventive technique.
“Instead of painting a flower, I would use equations to graph a flower. Instead of drawing stripes, I would use equations to create the patterns of the parallel lines that create the stripes”- Diarra Bousso
Photo courtesy of Diarrablu.
Also on display at the exhibition, alongside the designs displayed on mannequins in a space covered, wall to wall, with textiles Bousso created, is an animated video breaking down this unique process. This addition has helped viewers contextualize the work and inspired much positive feedback.
“The room was so packed that at some point you couldn't even walk. I was so overwhelmed with joy and gratitude because it's not what I expected,” Bousso says.
Where it all began
For Bousso, Senegal is the lifeblood of her work as an artist. Born into a family that values and enjoys art, the walls of her parent’s living room were covered with paintings her father regularly collected. Meanwhile, Bousso grew up making abstract paintings that captured her mood. “I used painting as a way to journal,” Bousso says. “So I would just sketch, draw, and paint how I was feeling. If I were depressed, it would be very gloomy, cloudy things.”
When she wasn’t journaling via painting, Bousso remembers making family portraits. With a mother who was into fashion and textiles and a rich family history in craftsmanship, Bousso’s heritage has always been a source of inspiration.
Bousso, who studied mathematics and finance, only began to consider the subject a possible art form when she worked as a teacher helping poorly performing students excel at maths. “I had to be very funny and creative,” Bousso recollects. “If they liked rap music, I would create equations and tie them up to the number of letters in the lyrics. If they liked art, I would draw flowers and show them equations that could make the same shape. And it worked! All the students from sixth grade to 12th grade that were coming into my program passed.”
While studying math education at Stanford, Bousso met Jo Boaler, a professor whose self-appointed title of creative mathematician encouraged her to share her mathematic design technique as lesson plans. This gave her the bravery to apply it to her growing fashion brand.
“It doesn't matter where I am in the world, everybody speaks maths, and all the equations have the same solutions no matter what country you're in.”
Photo courtesy of Diarrablu.
A focus on history and sustainability
When Bousso first started during COVID, she created designs and shared them on Instagram stories with a poll for her followers to vote for the best design, which she would go on to make. This approach produced exactly what people wanted, instead of mass-producing items and contributing to an already abysmal level of waste generated by the fashion industry.
This approach to sustainability is still present in her design process today. With Woven Equations, Bousso proves that garment-making can be artful, thoughtful, and filled with endless possibilities. “I want people to feel everything is possible, like the thought that you can make art with math equations,” she says. “You can celebrate your country and your village all around the world and come back to Senegal and showcase it. You can be based in Silicon Valley at the heart of technology and still combine tradition and technology. I want people to see all these contradictions and just feel inspired.”
The goal for Bousso is to move her installation to various parts of the world after the Biennale while expanding her artistic catalog beyond textiles and garments. “I think I've done a good job establishing my work as a designer globally. Now it's time to take it further and show my work as an artist. Whether a textile artist or a painter, all the different art forms I'm looking at still cover the same topics of inclusivity, sustainability, culture, technology, and how all these things can exist and coexist,” she says.
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