Hyde Cabinet #10: Framing a Feeling

For decades, Sidibé’s work was not valued as art, much like how art history often dismisses frames as purely functional. However, the painted glass frames by Checkna Touré, whose nearby shop produced many frames for Sidibé’s photographs, captures the era’s vibrant energy—its sights, sounds, and spirit. In the frame for this untitled photograph, the yellow and green leaves, refusing to be constrained to their black outlines, make tangible the subject’s glimmer of mischievous joy. Or, perhaps the rhythmic color pattern resembles the boisterous beats of James Brown singing about Black pride. Even the tape lining the frame provides an uneven, casual foundation similar to funk’s danceable emphasis on the downbeat. Touré’s frames evoke countless sense-based experiences for this new generation of post-independent, youthful Malians as they craft an attitude entirely their own.