As a social concept, the meanings of ‘Home’ are deeply rooted in cultural and local realities. The notion gathers a multitude of definitions both as a personal and collective idea. Some believe that home is based on family roots. Others argue that it is the place that you build on your own. One thing that these visions have in common is that they all engage with the sentimental sphere. For Roxane Mbanga – a Guadeloupian-Cameroonian-French multidisciplinary artist based in Amsterdam – home has many meanings and locations around the world. For this series, she welcomes us in Paris where she grew up and in which her first memories of art were shaped.

As a storyteller, the narratives Roxane tells – through fashion, film, graphic design, photography, writing and performance – address perceptions of self. Central to her practice is drawing on her personal experiences of often being “the only black or even woman” in social contexts, which has shaped the perceptions she has of herself and her identity. “The gaze of others really affected me in terms of who I am,” she explains. From racial to gender stereotypes, she is committed to sharing these stories in order to “analyse them and learn from them.” The artist also uses research to inform her work at every stage of her projects. Her inspirations range from being part of a workshop at The Raw Material Academy in Dakar to engaging with the works of Françcoise Verges, Léonora Miano and Emeka Okereke.

For Roxane, the power of storytelling lies in building alternative imaginaries for black women by sharing her own experiences and connecting to the act of sharing others’ experiences. Her recent exhibition, NOIRES at the San Mei Gallery in London, was an immersive installation presenting an itinerant instalment of the artist’s home. Personal belongings such as books, rugs and incense and produced works including textiles, prints and videos formed an intimate space that encouraged others to exchange as an act of pure kindness and joy. It became a place for dinners, talks and one-to-ones. “There was a student from Central Saint Martens felt truly moved by the stories that touched on intersectionality and the fact it represents different layers that compose us,” she recalls of one beautiful encounter at the gallery.

One of the video works in the show was Naked Underneath or How to use clothing to assert yourself? This project, which also formed the basis of her TEDx talk, Wearing your nudity, is centred on the act of a woman wearing a bubu over her naked body to walk through the streets of Lagos. Roxane collaborating with local artisans to reimagine this traditionally genderless item of clothing popular in Central and West Africa and now invites “women to appropriate their bodies in the public space through the sensation of their nudity without being subjected to the objective gaze of others.” In doing so, the work allows women to liberate themselves and embrace their feminine energy while rejecting the violence and sexualisation projected onto them every day.

Roxane’s ability to unite people through her work speaks to her concept of home. “For me, home is about feeling safe. It comes from a feeling of care.” She is creating an ever-evolving space to create, connect and build meaningful relationships. Above all, this is a place where people can be together, share and heal from their common traumas, “in a very subtle way, nothing is shouted,” she explains.

Roxane remembered one family who visited NOIRES, two brothers and one sister born and raised in London with Cameroonian heritage. “The radio was playing songs that remind me of home and one of them was a Cameroonian song from the 70s that my father liked. The sister started singing and looked at her brothers with the face you do when you immediately connect with a memory,” Roxane tells us. “If you live or grew up in Europe, you constantly feel like you do not belong, that your references are not common to the majority. But here, things that always made you feel like an outsider are accepted as the norm.” Being able to relate with others through music, food or objects can truly bring comfort, so through this installation, Roxane encourages an embrace yourself and your community. She also hopes to travel and expand the NOIRES concept across several African cities.

The artist’s early vision of home was naturally shaped by her family home in Paris. There, everything has its history. Objects are meticulously curated from the trips her parents went on and from her father’s work travels. “It can sometimes feel like a museum, you know,” she explains. “But this is something that I also do now.” Being deeply inspired by her upbringing, Roxane saw her parents designing their home based on their culture and this is reflected in the ever-evolving place that Roxane is now building for herself. “It's a home I'm curating, but it's the home I've always lived in.” Cherished memories of souvenirs and other keepsakes are all source of inspiration that make it into her work.

Although her home in Paris is a place of pure comfort, her feelings toward French society are less positive. “I did not see black women represented enough in various areas and industries and even today, we are under-represented in the arts, books, movies and even on TV.” In 2020, during the second wave of Black Lives Matter, she had real hope that things would change. Journalists such as Rokhaya Diallo were finally being heard loud and clear. “Then, two years later, what do you see?” questions the artist. Time has passed, the status quo has prevailed and the culture she grew up in still closed to her community. “Maybe this is something that will never happen as we remain invisible and fetishised.”

One of Roxane’s current projects examines the BUMIDOM in Guadeloupe. “I aim to learn more about all these forms of immigration that happened in the 1960s and how they affected families and individuals in Guadeloupe,” she says. Much like Windrush for the commonwealth Caribbean countries, citizens of French Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion and Guiana were invited to the “métropole” to train and work through the government’s BUMIDOM scheme, only to find themselves treated as second class citizens. And because there remains a lack of further education in Guadeloupe, young people continue to go to France in search of opportunities.

“You don’t necessarily grow up with your parents and grandparents. The way of seeing and feeling the family is completely different and the notion of home becomes something painful,” she explains. “It affects people's identity, their mentality, their trust. There are so many different layers to how families are affected by the geopolitical situation.” This phenomenon is common across the Caribbean. “It is always the same story but it is untold,” says Roxane, adding that even if individuals return to their island, they may feel alienated and a paradox arises from this culture shock.

Stories such as the BUMIDOM are just one example of a complex and difficult history for Afro communities. “Micro-aggressions just kill you. This is something so violent and rooted in societies we grew up in,” she states. The artist believes it is not the work of the Afro communities to educate others about these issues. Instead, she feels that “the most important thing is to search for people that get you and to surround yourself with love and peace.” Home is a space to process traumas, connect and feel seen. Its goal should be to allow individuals to blossom in a caring and safe environment and through her work, Roxane continues to create these spaces of healing.