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FROM THE BEGINNING OF YOUR CAREER IN 2015, YOUR WORK HAS DEALT WITH THE TOPIC OF IMMIGRATION AND THE SUPERFICIALITY OF BORDERS. STARTING IN 2020, YOU FOCUSSED ON THE OVER-EXPLOITATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES – SPECIFICALLY MINING – AND HUMANS, SERVING THE MARKET ECONOMY. HOW DID YOU COME TO FOCUS ON COTTON FIELDS, EVOKING THE PAST AND THE PRESENT AT THE SAME TIME?
It has to be said that even before I focussed on the issue of migration, I was interested in violence, and more particularly the violence I experienced in my own country. Between 2013 and 2015, Cameroon was going through a terrible time as a result of terrorist acts. I wondered how I could document and keep a record of this period. That is how I became interested in the human condition. The human condition led me to question the notion of space.By working on the notion of violence, I represented and froze the spaces where these massacres had taken place, simply by inscribing the names of these places onto my works. At the time, each of my canvases represented a stamp. I used the structure, I mentioned the price and the country issuing the stamp, which I modified according to the location of the attacks. One thing led to another and I began to want to represent the notion of space differently. That's what led me to the world of cartography, and then, by studying cartography, to questions of borders. The subject of migration came naturally to me in this context where I was materializing spaces, dealing with the question of the human condition. As far as I'm concerned, any subject is a good one to tackle, as long as the humans remain at the centre. For me, any subject that reflects a form of injustice is important to be highlighted. This is how, little by little, I moved from migration to economic issues and, in particular, the exploitation of raw materials. So, it was logical for me to tackle the theme of cotton, linked to the past and history. It's a common thread.I work on the different forms of raw materials: fossil materials, agricultural materials and liquid materials. At the moment, I am focusing on agricultural materials. When you look at agricultural materials, and cotton in particular, you naturally open up a whole area of human history. This includes the period of slavery and the deportation and displacement of black people. We must therefore ask ourselves what role these events have played in the development of the economy of the Western world today.HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SOLO SHOW LES DOMPTEURS DE NUAGES ?
Unlike all my previous exhibitions that were held at AFIKARIS, this one is special because I'm opening up a debate around the question of History and its repercussions on the contemporary world. Here, I'm highlighting the notion of modernity. What is modernity today? Why does a form of slavery whose origins lie in the past continue to exist? How can this paradigm be changed by initiating new conversations? I think it's about getting people to question the effects of the past and how it impacts on the contemporary world.YOU ARE OFTEN CALLED THE PAINTER OF THE HUMAN CONDITION. WHY DO YOU CHOOSE THE HUMAN CONDITION AS A GUIDELINE IN YOUR ART?
I'm someone who has always sought to understand human beings. As a result, the body is at the heart of my creative approach. Dealing with the body brings me back to dealing with the human being and their social condition. How is this body perceived today in the different spaces in which it moves and acts? For me, the notion of the body works in correlation with the notion of space, because it is the body that allows a space to exist. The space provides the material to visualize, and, in fact, gives rise to the body's claims.That's why, for me, dealing with the human condition is a way of creating a dialogue between the body and space; and of seeing what can emerge as essential from this whole. Dealing with the human condition is also part of my story as a human being, as an adolescent, as a child. Having been through a number of upheavals in my life, I thought that this might be the way to talk about myself and my condition as Jean David in a space related to a reality that I have lived and experienced. This reality has become the source pushing me to try to convey my story through the works I produce. I always say that my work is a part of myself. Most of the bodies or faces I represent are in fact ‘crypto-portraits’. They are a representation of myself, or a desire to represent myself, depending on the subject I deal with and want to convey. Cameroonian writer, curator, essayist and art critic Simon Njami put it well when he said that I generally set myself aside, but represent myself through the models and people I sculpt or portray.HOW DOES THE HUMAN CONDITION MANIFEST IN YOUR NEW BODY OF WORKS?
This human condition always manifests itself in a logic of representing human beings in very specific activities: in fields, in their environment or in specific places. The work I'm presenting here depicts the situation of workers in cotton fields, but it could also be in cocoa or coffee fields like I previously depicted mining areas. My work is very much in this vein.The representation of this condition in my work is a manifestation of resilience and self-questioning: what we would like to be and how we would manage to reach this goal. It's not a defeatist representation. No. On the contrary, it's a very optimistic representation. That's why most of my characters, through their attitude, always retain a form of positive energy.YOUR TWO PREVIOUS EXHIBITIONS AT AFIKARIS GALLERY ONLY DISPLAYED WORKS ON CANVAS. THIS NEW SOLO SHOW LES DOMPTEURS DE NUAGES EXPLORES DIFFERENT MEDIUMS, INCLUDING WORKS ON PAPER AND ONE INSTALLATION. WHAT DID PUSH YOUR INTEREST IN OTHER ART FORMS? HOW DO YOU FORESEE THE EVOLUTION OF YOUR WORK?
As a contemporary artist today, I don't think there are any limitations in terms of medium. The medium has to adapt to the subjects and the thoughts that you are pursuing. I'm aware that I'm better known and recognised as a painter. Yet this isn't the first time I've worked with other techniques. I've already done so on several occasions in exhibitions in Cameroon, but this will be the first time I've shown this aspect of my work in Europe.This installation is also a way of showing the contemporary art world that my work is not limited to painting. The time has come for me to move away from painting and show that a subject can be explored through several types of media. It's a way of renewing myself and avoiding monotony. Sometimes, offering sculptures, drawings and other works on the same subject presents different technical challenges. In fact, it's another way of presenting the subject and moving towards other emotions. It's a way of creating another immersion in my work.Exploring other media is also a question of resources. Making installations requires a huge amount of investment, technical skill and organization. It's often easier for me to concentrate on painting. For example, for the exhibition we're currently preparing, it was very important to bring in materials from Cameroon that we were not sure we would be able to find in Paris. So, there are also these issues of transport and handling that have to be taken into account when preparing exhibitions abroad that include installations.This exhibition is taking place at the same time as Afikaris’s 5th anniversary. I think that the evolution of the gallery goes hand in hand with the evolution of the artist. Five years after its creation, the gallery is showing that its artists do not stand out in a single discipline, but that they can also express themselves through different media.FOR THIS EXHIBITION, YOU WANTED TO COLLABORATE WITH ANOTHER ARTIST – MAGLOIRE MPAKA – TO HELP YOU WITH THE SILKSCREEN PRINTINGS ADORNING THE BAGS DISPLAYED IN YOUR INSTALLATION. WHY? WHAT DID THIS CONVERSATION AND ARTISTIC EXCHANGE BRING YOU?
I use silkscreen printing a lot in my work but I don't practise the techniques involved in this process - in particular making a stencil or making the graphic montage of the tracing paper that will help to expose the stencil. In Cameroon, I always work in collaboration with other artists.As part of my residency in Paris, I looked for a silkscreen-printing workshop that could help me make my installation. That's how I met Magloire Mpaka. It was essential to talk to him because I think it's necessary for artists to collaborate in order to share experiences. And I was delighted to realise that he was also interested in the question of archives, which I have recently introduced into my work.HOW DO YOU CHOOSE THE TITLE OF YOUR WORKS?
The titles of my works have long been inspired and influenced by the postal industry because I believe that each of my works represents a message that I am transmitting to humanity. It's with this same idea in mind that you will always find stamps on my canvases. In the titles, I introduce codes that are reminiscent of the field of communication, such as BP, PO Box, www, #, etc. I use all these elements, whether from the past or the present, to integrate them into my works. They are part of the identity of my work.Today, I'm introducing a new codification into the nomenclature of my titles. I'm using the codes used in archive classification to provide information about the type of archive in question.IN 2023, WHAT MESSAGE WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE HEARD BY MOST PEOPLE?
It's a humanitarian message, but also a message of questioning. I'm not here to judge people or raise their awareness. I'm here to ask questions and make observations based on my perception of the world through the spaces in which I live. I simply want to create debates around the different subjects I want to explore.I'm like a sponge, I absorb most of the things that surround me and then I pass them on in a visual and artistic way. My aim is to get across a humanitarian message and to get people to question their place in the world and the role they have to play within a group or community.
INTERVIEW WITH JEAN DAVID NKOT
Current viewing_room
