The Talking Tree
video, 3’
commissioned by Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, 2010

Abdullay Kadal Traore is a musician from Burkina Faso who comes from a family of griots, repositories of oral tradition.

The soundtrack of the video is a recording of Abdullay speaking in Sambla, the language of his ethnic group. He explains how, in his group's tradition, certain areas of language are only accessible during specific, established social occasions. Only a griot has the power to access such areas, and the possibility to tell certain stories or sing certain songs increases with age. The words pronounced in such events are strictly untranslatable: only Sambla people can access them through their language.

The video's subtitles, although appearing to be a faithful translation of what Abdullay is saying, are entirely disconnected from his words. They narrate a traditional Sambla story for children about a talking tree, which kills everyone who utters certain forbidden words.

Exhibited at: Cape Town Art Fair, South Africa (2018); Whitechapel Gallery, London (2013); Prague Biennale 5 (2011); Rotonda di Via Besana, Milano (2010).