Collection: The virtual world (Eliane Aïsso)

In Présence de l’Absent, Aïsso explores the representation of women within ancestral Beninese traditions by reimagining asen, portable altars that serve as a bridge between the living and the dead. The installation creates a space for reflection and reverence, inspired by ancestor worship in the Vodoun tradition. Traditionally forged in metal, the asen here are crafted from organic materials: by replacing metal with wood and textiles, the artist asserts the role of women in cultural memory and transmission.Through this work, Aïsso reconsiders both the historical meaning and materiality of the asen, subverting a sacred object historically associated with male-dominated codes to place women, as bearers of life, at the center of her Beninese cultural heritage.