Valerie John: I Telman Nwe Ki I Ble (So Black It Turns Blue)

Preview: written before the show opened

The title is Martinican Creole for "so black it turns blue", and the show runs that whole range in indigo, from the deepest blues to the brightest blacks. Valérie John, born in Fort-de-France in 1964, learned craft indigo dyeing in Senegal, where she still lives part of the time.

The work dates from the 1990s on, after she went back to Martinique and set up what she calls her "atelier-œuvre", a studio that is itself the work. You move between paper and textile assemblages, clothing, objects and books, on the walls, across the floor and hanging in mid-air. Since her student days she has worked with the pagne, the West African wrap cloth, as something that stores layers of memory.

It opens on 21 October, so no reviews yet. Entry is free without booking on 21 October (noon to 10pm) and 22 October (noon to 5pm). After that, the €13 ticket (€9 reduced, free under 18) covers every show in the building. Closed Tuesdays, open until midnight on Thursdays.