Man's increasing proficiency in using the world is often accompanied by a reduction in humanity.
Holy Rollers is a series of sculptures that reflect the transitory nature of being. It confronts us with our ideas on vulnerability, mortality and humanity.
'In the beginning is relation,’ reads the famous line from Martin Buber’s 1923 classic 'I and Thou'. To roughly summarize the philosopher’s plea, man is nothing without the existence of the other. My work Bébélé Zamba builds on this thought and occupies a space that is in-between. 94 embroidered portraits and a film are mediators between that which can’t be seen or said, but can be felt.
An icon shines light through which others can be seen.
Used screen-prints were used as the basis for these works. In Hidden Icons - which takes the icon out of its religious context - I portrayed women I came across on the street.
The dead are among us. In everything around us; in the shade, in the water and in the forest. Among the Bamiléké - my father’s tribe - this thought is also strongly present. It is based on the idea of human duality, with body and mind being separate entities. The immortality of the ancestor is passed on through the soul that resides in the skull. This also means that the dead never disappear, on the contrary, they are part of the community and everyday life.
Echo was presented at the Dakar Biennale as part of the presentation ‘Forger / Out of the Fire’ from May 19 - June 21 2022. The projects Echo: Homo Fabricius and Echo: Double Trilogy were part of the installation.
The project 1525 was presented at the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, The Netherlands and comprised a 25 metre high installation with 152 unique works - the series 152, which could be seen from both sides -, six films and fifty two prints.
Traces of the holy remain, but assume a different meaning in this altered, earthly context.
The idea behind this work lies in giving objects a second lease on life, by transforming and converting them into something else. For Adieu l’enfance, I took religious bronze objects and transformed them into different objects, such as a chair, a vase, a ladder and a dromedary.
In Future Nostalgia, a series of aged industrial elements articulate the standard components of a regular vehicle. As such, the handlebars, seat, and frame have been recreated by hammers, rakes, pliers, and springs. Each component has its own distinct history, with multiple forms of deterioration such as rust and scrapes randomly dispersed throughout their surfaces in ode to their previous functions.
