About the Artist

Annabelle Mandeng is a German self-taught artist with Cameroonian roots. Her artwork is a mirror of her own experiences as a Black woman in a mostly white society.

The portraits show friends of Annabelle who are equally Germans with Black roots. Surrounded by black and white woven tape as a symbol of the conservative structures in which we all live, the protagonists' fantasy costumes are a sign that we can still be anything.

Being tattooed on her shoulder blades with huge bird wings as a symbol for freedom and survival, Annabelle also chooses certain birds as companions of her protagonists.

Her tape works are hand woven in a traditional technique usually used on looms. It symbolizes the co-existence of different genders, ethnicities and opinions within our society.

The red woolen threads stand in a figurative sense for rules and traditions that we are bound to. The artist’s wish to free ourselves from these constraints is shown by letting the threads hang loose at the end.

Annabelle also works as an actress, presenter and voice-over artist. Annabelle Mandeng is based in Berlin, Germany.