Across the vastness and complexity of sub-Saharan Africa, and throughout the centuries, representations of couples have evoked a fundamental desire of the human condition¿́¿a yearning of the individual to transcend isolation and connect with an "other." Figurative pairs created by artists from the extreme reaches of the continent, ranging from the Dogon of Mali to the Sakalava of Madagascar, constitute artistic explorations into this realm of duality. This publication examines the representation of couples in African sculpture, and explores the underlying social and philosophical ideas concerning duality that are culture-specific. -- Metropolitan Museum of Art website.