JUNE 2 – JULY 31, 2022

Bwo Art is thrilled to announce that Sesse Elangwe’s debut European solo exhibition will open this Thursday, June 2 at 193 Gallery in Paris. Held as a chapter under the broader exhibition “Dicokam” curated by Mary-Lou Ngwe-Secke, the US-based Cameroonian artist’s second solo exhibition this year will present a poignant new body of work titled “If We Could Talk” which explores a subject dear to him: the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon.

Sesse Elangwe, Bad card (2022), acrylic on canvas, 200 x 200cm. Courtesy of Bwo Art and the artist.

The series “If We Could Talk” is the embodiment of Sesse Elangwe’s desire to give a voice to the youths in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon (the Northwest and Southwest) who have been the most affected by the ongoing Anglophone crisis that has caused the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. In line with his extensive process centered on the importance of engaging in positive conversations to foster changes in the world, the artist portrays conversation scenes in which he incorporates his signature large eye of enlightenment on subjects as an attempt to represent those who have gained knowledge and seek to enlighten others in the conversation process.

Sesse Elangwe, Genesis (2022), acrylic on canvas, 200 x 200cm. Courtesy of Bwo Art and the artist.

The ten large-scale paintings which will be on view in Paris until July 31 are the artist’s personal testimony on a crisis which has turned into an undocumented civil war. Using acrylic and through a combination of surrealism and cubism, Elangwe creates inverted face-exagerated figures represented against color-blocked backgrounds to engage viewers and put them in another world of thought and reflection. A key development and addition to his artistic language is the insertion of cocoyam leaves in group scenes as a way to accentuate the importance of togetherness, playing with the symbolism attached to the plant. 

Sesse Elangwe, Political Yahoo (2022), acrylic on canvas, 200 x 250cm. Courtesy of Bwo Art and the artist.

By subverting typical images related to war with representations of the people at its heart that depict their resilience, strength and spirit of solidarity, Elangwe’s aim through this series is to reclaim his people’s humanity as he renders a firsthand account of this tragic moment in history.  

In the group exhibition section of “Dicokam” which aims at celebrating Cameroon’s artistic lexicon, sculptor and multidisciplinary artist Beya Gille Gacha who recently unveiled a new installation at the 14th edition of the Dakar Biennale, will be presenting three sculptures including Coupe les bras, coupe l’histoire, coupe le pouvoir which results from discoveries on epigenetics and the transmission of trauma through generations by the artist.  Gille Gacha questions the historicity and symbolism of hand amputation. Metaphorically, cutting off someone’s hand is cutting off their ability to create their power. The artist draws a parallel between two ways of cutting off the capacity for action: by the violent removal of the forearms during colonization, and by historical, media, school, and family stigmatization.
 

About 193 Gallery: With a location in Paris, France and an outpost in Venice, Italy, 193 Gallery is one of the most dynamic galleries in the microcosme of contemporary art by artists from Africa in Europe. The gallery has worked with several emerging or confirmed artists from a vast number of countries across the world and represents today in Europe a selected number of African artists like Idris Habib, Thandiwe Miriu, Derrick Ofosu Boateng and Hassan Hajjaj. 

For press or general inquiries, please contact:
brice@bwoart.com