Till January 31 in In Situ Galerie, 19 Rue Michel Le Comte, Paris.
About:
Dominique Zinkpe’s (1969, Cotonou, Benin) paintings and drawings follow tortuous journeys where figures hover midway between human and animal, recalling power games, masquerades or sex, all with a strong satirical flavour. The works play but the mystical, philosophical, and cultural conundrums thrown up by the merging of Catholicism and Animism and traditional and contemporary culture. His distinctive brilliance reveals itself on the canvas; intimate, powerful and coquettish.
Sculpture Blue.
The works are disturbing and arresting constructs of the imagination mirroring the dilemmas and complexities of Zinkpe’s own life. Zinkpè oeuvre is complex and wide ranging, spanning installations, drawings, painting, sculpture and video. There is restlessness within Zinkpe that prevents him from confining his creative processes to one medium, but his paintings and drawings represent his most intimate work – significantly they are produced at the private studio in his house as opposed to his hectic sculpture and installation studio in the centre of Cotonou. His sculptures are very complex yet delightfully hard-work related.
Premier Jour de Bea, 2013.
The many issues around the voodoo in Benin Republic are what the artist infuses into his works, especially the sculptures. The mysteries among other cultural elements are what Zinkpe is sharing across the West Coast of Africa using his works of art. For example, the mystery of twin children which most West African share, using the universal language to communicate this commonality which he also finds as a bond. The domineering red and ash colours is a reflection of what exist, and the spiritual aspect of his works. “When I paint, I try to find a mirror for Africa,” he said at a preview session in Lagos. Most of his paintings depict his sad time, while the sculptures capture the good time.
Metamorphose, 2013.
(from The Nation, October 30, 2013)
Anima, 2013.
