Malala Andrialavidrazana

Biography

Malala Andrialavidrazana works across disciplines to examine communication, dialogue and difference within cross-cultural contexts. Drawing upon a diverse web of sources from her own archival research and photography, her visual compositions open up the possibility of alternative forms of history-making. Having moved from her native Madagascar to settle in Paris at the age of 12, Andrialavidrazana has found a source of inspiration in interrogating barriers and shifting through one land to another. Her photographic work seeks moments of intimacy that belie broader global conventions and develop new connections between private and public spaces. From funerary practices in the Global South to middle-class homes in areas around the Indian Ocean, the artist highlights tender moments with a keen sensitivity to the lasting impressions of historical injustice from the legacies of colonialism.

Andrialavidrazana’s works have been presented in solo and group exhibitions in institutions such as Africa Museum, Belgium (2022); Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town (2022); Cité des arts, Paris (2022); Mead Gallery, Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry (2022); Espace culturel d’Anglemont, Les Lilas, France (2022); Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, Saint Denis, France (2021); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2020); MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum, Chiang Mai, Thailand (2020); Villa Empain, Boghossian Foundation, Brussels (2020); Musée Urbain Cabrol, Villefranche de Rouergue, France (2019); Museo Civico Archeologico, Bologna (2019); Aperture Foundation, New York (2019); Dhaka Art Summit (2018); Karachi Biennale 17 (2017); and 14th Biennale de Lyon (2017).

Andrialavidrazana has been awarded Ambassador of the Parisian gallery space of the Fondation H, dedicated to the African continent’s culture (2020); Patron of the Prix Célimène Creativity Award for Women, Reunion Island (2018) and Artist mobility grant, IFAS (2014). She completed residences awarded by Kalmar Konstmuseum, Designarkivet and The Glass Factory, Sweden (2018) and Institut Français and National Art Council of South Africa (2012). She has also been on the jury for important awards such as democraSEE 2, Award for Contemporary Southern African Photography (2018) and the Francophonie Award for Photography, Ivory Coast (2017).

She graduated from the École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Paris-La Villette in 1996.

Born in 1971 in Madagascar, the artist lives and works in Paris.

SAF participation:
Sharjah Biennial 15 (2023)