In the Weft of Memory, 2025

Mercerized cotton, clay beads, red pigments, jacquard weaving, embroidery, 85 x 115 in

In this work, the artist weaves memory, family history and cultural identity into a fabric sculpture, Photographic images are given greater material status through weaving. Family photographs are activated through juxtapositions that link the artist with her Bamileke heritage. Using the theatre of the camera space, the artist sutures remnants of the past into new imaginary and desired encounters.

At its core is Mpoka’s self-portrait diptych, Alter-Egos, where the artist is shown seated amidst floral tapestries, facing two framed heirlooms from the 1960s. On the left is an image of her grandmother dressed in white church attire, and on the right, she is shown in a traditional boubou. Weaving, a craft historically tied to feminine labor, takes on both a subversive role and a means of reimagining. Through the ongoing practice of mé(tissage)—the blending and transformation of cultural threads—the artist challenges traditional gender roles while celebrating the fluidity of her own identity.

In the Weft of Memory also marks a personal shift for Mpoka, as she assumes a matriarchal role after the passing of her grandmother in Douala in 2023. This transition, deeply connected to Bamileke tradition, signified a defining moment when Mpoka inherited her family’s history—heirlooms, photographs, and objects—that she brought back to Montreal to preserve and continue.