ANTANANARIVO
13 NOVEMBER 2026 - 25 APRIL 2027
In 2026, the Malagasy artist Temandrota, first winner of Prix Paritana, celebrates his 30 years of artistic career. For the occasion, Fondation H is dedicating a monographic exhibition to the artist. Fondation H has consistently followed and supported Temandrota’s work for the past ten years: by collecting some forty of his works to date, bysupporting him in major projects such as the exhibition Madagascar: Arts de la Grande Île at the Musée du quaiBranly – Jacques Chirac in 2018–2019, and by providing him with opportunities to present his work on the international stage through his monographic exhibition, Barbie Caillou, at Fondation H’s space in Paris in 2022, precededby a residency at the Cité internationale des arts in Paris.
The exhibition explores the artist’s visual, spiritual and philosophical world and offers a reflection on the relationshipbetween humanity, living beings and the cosmos. Inspired by Malagasy oral tradition, the exhibition’s cross-cuttingthemes evoke two emblematic expressions of Malagasy philosophy. Masoandro amam-bolana — the sun and the moon — evokes both a cosmogony and a concept of ancestry: the moon represents the mother, whilst the sunembodies the father. Tantely amam-bahona — honey and aloe — refers to nature and a return to virtuous elements,both plant and animal. Together, these ideas embody a quest for abundance amidst adversity and a way of thinkinglife in its interconnectedness.
The visitor route explores a rich and multifaceted body of work, structured around a central theme: the quest forabundance. This research permeates the artist’s entire practice, fuelled by his nomadic journey through southernMadagascar. His cosmopolitan affiliation with several communities (Vezo, Antanosy, Antandroy, Mahafaly), as wellas his constant desire to travel the Great Island from south to north, whilst living in the centre of the country, haveshaped a keen awareness of movements, narratives and forms of coexistence.
Artist’s biography
Temandrota, whose real name is Randriahasandratra Razafimandimby, is a Malagasy artist born in 1975 in Antananarivo, where he currently lives and works. Coming from a family of hunters in southern Madagascar, he was deeply affected by the kere, a famine caused by drought in this arid region, which influences his creative process both in the subjects he explores and the materiality of his work. His artistic approach incorporates intangible aspects of the culture of the Far South of Madagascar, such as nomadism, spirituality, traditional storytelling and oral tradition. His work, which spans a variety of media (painting, sculpture, installation, performance), draws its inspiration from the culture of the Tandroy people, a community in south-eastern Madagascar amongst whom he grew up. The strength of Temandrota’s work lies in his ability to weave an artistic language deeply rooted in the realities of the territories he travels through, his anchor lands, whilst maintaining a distinctly contemporary feel. In his works, he uses natural materials that he collects along the way, such as earth, sisal, roots, wood, sap and leaves, which he generally combines with recycled objects, or even waste that he collects from the rubbish dumps of Antananarivo.