Could you introduce yourself?
I was born in 1980, in Angers. Very quickly attracted by drawing, it was natural for me to begin my studies at the university of visual arts in Rennes. It was right whem new technologies boomed and I focused my artistic practice towards the discovery of graphic design and new interactive media.
That’s how I ended in Fine Arts and perfected my apprenticeship in technical arts where I obtained a DNAT (National Arts and Technics Diploma). Then, in parallel with my master’s degree in visual arts where I presented experimental videos, I started my clothes painting creations and created my brand in 2006, “Design by do”. Today I put my creation activity a bit aside to devote myself fully to my activity as a painter performer.
What triggered the desire to do this job?
It’s been in me since very young. More than a desire, it was an evidence. Doing this job is a choice that requires sacrifices but they are done naturally because the passion is stronger than the rest!
As an artist, how would you define yourself?
I am an artist who wants to go beyond borders and to shake up some codes. Through the variation of the creative media I explore (canvas, the street, the body), I want to create bridges between the different forms of arts.
Which artists do you admire? Who inspired you?
There are a lot of them! Basquiat and Warhol, Dubuffet, Titouan Lamazou and Enki Bilal, Klein, Picasso, street art artists like Banksy, Jonone, Jef aerosol, to name a few. I also like a lot the scenes of lives from the 17thand 18thcenturies for costumes and the atmosphere of that time. In short, the list would be long, I get a little bit from all currents.
What do your works reflect?
My paintings mix different mediums and pictorial references relating to painting but also to graphic arts, street art, graffiti, pop art and African art. These are paintings in punchy colors, mixing political messages, identity questioning, ancestral practices and urban codes.
What motivates your creation?
Patterns, shapes, colors and African symbols have been adopted in my work that often revolves around portraiture and mask. I like to mix times. Taking back traditional codes and aesthetics and transporting them in our modern world. My work highlights a special atmosphere between the old and the contemporary.
One of my missions is to inform people outside the borders about a modern Africa. A reflection of time, space, identity and culture. My art is the testimony of an Africa in harmony with time, while taking into account its heritage in modern times. I wish to speak about the strong legacy of this Africa by positioning it in a present time.
How do you work?
I recycle a lot. I love to browse flea markets, Emmaus markets and I often include in my works this spirit of recovered materials!
What is your particularity?
An African soul that coexists with a Western soul.
Are you in associations or collectives of other artists? If yes, why?
Yes, I am part of the Blast collective in Angers. I like the idea of sharing with other artists.
What are your current projects?
- “REMAKEHISTORY” which is a work of old engravings, paintings and commercials retouching, tacklin the subject of slavery, immigration and territorial space.
- “Mask Spirits” which is a work around the mask in an Afro-futuristic spirit between ancestral tradition and modernity. For this work I show the African tradition in a street, pop and contemporary universe.
- “Tête à corps” which is a collaboration with the artist photographer Siaka S Traoré and a body painting work.
