Exhibition Wax

At the Musée de l'Homme

Through to September 7th, 2025.

Affiche de l’exposition © DR

In the heart of Paris, the Musée de l'Homme explores the roots and future of humankind through a series of outstanding exhibitions that touch on social issues and current aff airs. The museum is dedicating, as part of its "Migrations" season, a surprising exhibition to wax, this emblematic fabric of the African continent whose colors and patterns have crossed borders and decades. In the first space, located at the Balcon des Sciences, the exhibition traces the unique and little-known history of this fabric, which began in the 19th century at the crossroads of Asia, Europe, and Africa. Wax gets its name from the wax printing technique, wax in English, used to print on both sides, and whose first examples were made by Dutch entrepreneurs who sought to reproduce traditional Indonesian batiks. And it is thanks to the Ghanaian soldiers enlisted in Java by the Dutch in the mid-19th century that wax gained its success on the African continent. Wax owes its success to its patterns, whose iconographic foundations were laid at the beginning of the 20th century and whose great diversity is inspired by both fauna and flora as well as current political and social events. Wax is no longer just a consumer product; it conveys a message and shows the identity of the person wearing it. The second part of the exhibition reveals its central place on the scene of fashion, design, and contemporary art. For two decades, wax has been a source of inspiration for many artists and designers who revisit its historical and cultural significance and explore its aesthetic possibilities. A powerful vector of identity, it raises the question of cultural appropriation and re-appropriation. Emblem, symbol of belonging to a shared heritage for some, while for others it reflects European imperialism and engenders rejection. Anyway, wax leaves no one indifferent!

17 place du Trocadéro

75016 Paris