Kaana Tie

Kaana Tie, or "women's earth" in Lyélé, is the name Yidja chose for her ongoing project.

In Lyéla communities, women have long painted the walls of their homes with bold geometric patterns, working directly onto earth surfaces. This practice is passed down from mother to daughter. Yidja learned it from hers.

But who are the Lyéla? They are an ethnic group from Burkina Faso and Ghana, and they share a tradition of architectural painting. These painting techniques have been inscribed as UNESCO Heritage. These very murals are painted by women and transmitted through generations.

Each year, paintings have to be remade, as they protect and embellish the houses. But this living heritage is fragile, and the patterns exist only as long as someone remembers how to trace them.

Through Kaana Tie, Yidja brings this visual language onto museum-grade archival panels by preserving the earth pigments, the textures, and the gestures that define it.

Moving from wall to panel is not simply a change of surface. It is a way of making sure that something built to weather a season can now endure for generations.