Sammy Baloji & Cécile Fromont

Rethreaded Indies  

In ‘Rethreaded Indies’, artists Sammy Baloji and Cécile Fromont bring together textile patterns from early modern Europe and the former Kingdom of Kongo. The wall hanging, measuring 4.5 metres wide by 3.5 metres high, is based on historical archival material and tells a story in which Africa takes centre stage, a perspective long absent from European visual culture. 

The work forms a deliberate counterpoint to colonial representations from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as seen in the so-called Old Indies tapestries, luxurious works produced in the Gobelins workshops in Paris. By interweaving designs from Europe and Kongo, Baloji and Fromont demonstrate how history can be narrated differently. 

The tapestry was created using the traditional Gobelins weaving technique, in which coloured threads are combined to form an image. Through this method, the artists symbolically reclaim control over a history that was previously represented largely from a one-sided, colonial perspective. 

The work was shown at Framer Framed in Amsterdam as part of the exhibition ‘Shapeshifters: On Wounds, Wonders and Transformation’, and was on view until 11 January 2026. 

Sammy Baloji has been selected as the recipient of the Mondrian Prize 2026. 

Sammy Baloji & Cécile Fromont, ‘Rethreaded Indies (2025)’ in the exhibition ‘Shapeshifters: On Wounds, Wonders and Transformation (2025)’ by Framer Framed, Amsterdam. Photo: © Maarten Nauw / Framer Framed and © Ben Yau / Framer Framed.