The title refers to the oldest recorded name for the African continent, which was used by indigenous groups to mean ‘The Garden of Eden’ or ‘The Mother of Mankind.’ When used today, at least for Girmachew, it can also suggest a sensibility or ethos; a way of seeing or believing. For him it’s about reconnecting to the continent’s pre-Colonial history and celebrating its potentiality and richness of culture. Girmachew, who was born in Ethiopia and now lives and works in Frankfurt, Germany, has used that idea of Alkebu-Lan as both a historic reality and an ideology aspiration to inspire narratives, parables, and metaphors that he can use in his own work. As he explains, “my work is about the language of the spiritual world and the invisible reality that is everywhere.”