GHOST FAIR TRADE
A film by Laurence Bonvin & Cheikh Ndiaye
HD video, 38 min., 2022.
On the site of the Senegal International Center of Foreign Trade (CICES), the Dakar International Trade Fair has taken place annually since 1974. This film introduces viewers to a masterpiece of architectural modernism through this key event as well as other commercial, political, and cultural events that lend a sense of rhythm to the venue, contrasting with the day-to-day stillness. Step by step, a narrative unfolds that reveals invisible presences, evoking the site’s complex history – where animism, independence, and postcolonial heritage intertwine.