Big Tree I is a framed mud cloth textile crafted from African spun cotton, featuring a stylized tree rendered in expressive, linear forms.
Compared to its counterpart, the composition feels more open and expansive—its branches reaching outward with a sense of movement and growth. The piece carries a lightness while still remaining grounded, creating a balance between structure and fluidity.
Mud cloth, traditionally handmade and dyed using natural processes, holds deep cultural significance. Each pattern is symbolic, often reflecting nature, history, and community. The hand-rendered quality of the textile adds warmth, texture, and authenticity.
Whether styled alone or paired with Big Tree II, this piece brings a sense of organic movement and cultural depth into a space.
Medium: Framed Mud Cloth, a refined blend of art and tradition.
Dimensions: 26"W x 60"H
About Kader Boly
Kader Boly is an artist whose work is deeply rooted in his upbringing in Sabce, a village in northern Burkina Faso. Born into a Fulani family of nomadic herders, Boly spent his childhood guiding sheep, goats, and chickens across the plains in search of greener pastures. As the youngest of nine children, and one of only a few in his village to attend school, his early life was shaped by both responsibility and reflection.
Living in close communion with animals and the natural world, Boly developed a profound emotional bond with the land and its rhythms. The beauty of the rainy seasons, the hardships of the dry months, and the fragility of life left lasting impressions. While he loved the lifestyle for the connection it gave him to nature, he also felt a growing restlessness and desire for change, questioning a future that seemed predetermined.
At twelve years old, Boly began drawing as a way to process his thoughts, emotions, and surroundings - an early act of self-expression that would quietly chart his path forward. At twenty, he left West Africa for France, carrying with him the memories, philosophies, and visual language shaped by his childhood.
Today, Boly’s work reflects this journey: a dialogue between heritage and transformation, nature and introspection. His art serves as both preservation and exploration—honoring where he comes from while giving form to the expansive vision that first compelled him to create.
