Ambi, All Fired Up

Anjara Rasoanaivo, 18 February 2010.

A portrait of Ambi, an artist who works with fire as her raw material, wanting to change how it is seen: not only as a source of danger, but also as a source of life. The article traces a fascination born in childhood, watching the smoke from her father’s cigarette. It also recalls the black mark her mother would press onto white cloth with cigarette smoke, to discourage her daughters from smoking. The youngest of two children, Ambi describes a childhood marked by solitude. She says that art became her refuge from the lack of understanding she found among those close to her.

The article describes her technique: a blowtorch or a simple lighter applied to fabric, to compose plays of shadow and light. The resulting pieces are assembled like a puzzle, deliberately built so they can be taken apart and reassembled by whoever holds them. The article also describes her fascination with traces and their endless reproduction. It recalls her background: holder of a postgraduate degree (DEA) in art history, contemporary visual artist, pétanque referee and owner of a vintage clothing shop, already exhibited in Aix-en-Provence and in several French galleries. She plans to return to Madagascar to exhibit there and pass art on to children.

Art saved me.

Summary and quotation from the original article, signed Anjara Rasoanaivo, under the title “Ambi, une artiste tout feu, tout flamme.”