HOLY ROLLERS - GREAT CHAIN OF BEING

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. The series is rooted in the work of the alchemists and their interest in the process of transformation in search of perfection of the human body and soul.

In Holy Rollers, cloudy, muddy parts of the epoxy figures are alternated by transparent pieces. As time passes, the transparency will grow. The amorphous sculptures They are going through a metamorphosis, just as we are. A part of us might have passed, but will return in a different shape and form.

BÉBÉLÉ ZAMBA

'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.

Bébélé Zamba is about the unconditional love between parents and their child and about the unique way in which this reciprocal relationship is affected by a process of holding on and letting go.

BÉBÉLÉ ZAMBA - AFTER 7

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. The body decomposes and slowly disappears underground, but the soul is something that continues to exist.

Seven life-size sculptures - made from various found materials such as metal, epoxy, ritual objects and hair - are an attempt to connect to my father’s soul, who passed away when I was six.

ECHO

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.

For many centuries we - Africans and Europeans - have been aware of each other’s existence. Our different rhythms and patterns have met many times. These traces and legacies show us that these histories are never far away, that they are part of all our lives and not only of those of the ‘other’. I invite the viewer to experience the works not only from the front, but to also see what is behind.

1525

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.

The exhibition title is a play on the number 152. A single five is added: one of the first transatlantic transports of enslaved people took place in 1525.

À DIEU L'ENFANCE

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. Traces of the holy remain, but assume a different meaning in this altered, earthly context.

The series consists of 13 works, as a reference to the 13 apostles.

HIDDEN ICONS

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.

Silhouette cut-outs from paper formed the starting point for an outline of delicate embroidery highlighting their faces and intricate braided hairstyles.

FUTURE NOSTALGIA

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.