Kristine Tsala

Kristine-Tsala-Comme-des-Papillons-100-x-80-cm-Mixed-Media

Commes des Papillons.

Kristine Tsala born and lives in Douala, Cameroon.

Created in 2005, and based in Douala, 3Kokoricos is an artists’ collective founded by three graduates of the Kinshasa Academy of Fine Arts (ABA): Samuel Dallé, Aza Mansongi and Kristine Tsala. Each pursues their own artistic direction, united by their shared optimism and enthusiasm. Like the cock-crow immortalised in the collective’s name – an unfailingly punctual, vibrant call to action – its members aim to motivate and energise viewers of their paintings, adopting a colourful, sun-filled palette, and cheery, festive themes. But the aesthetic similarities end there. These are three unique artistic personalities, seeking strength (and moral and financial support) in unity, and above all in the face of the ‘often very harsh’ critical eye of others.

Kristine Tsala is a free woman. Free to control her own destiny and pursue wholeheartedly the path she has chosen – a career as a professional artist. The vast size of some of her canvases gives her a feeling of invincibility, she says. An intuition confirmed by her success. Like the collective’s other two members, she ‘distributes colour’, presenting it to the viewer, and more: ‘It’s tremendous when your work is “used” for a particular setting for example. It’s open to any number of readings, to multiple conversations.’ Full of life, and supremely elegant, her female subjects engage in conversation too, while walking down the street or over a drink. ‘When I was younger, textile companies offered me collections of wax print cottons with irresistible motifs. It opened my eyes, gave me a new perspective. Today, all my women wear wax prints. They’re very contemporary, very modern, and now the fabric follows me everywhere, even to my studio.’ Tall, slender and svelte in the extreme, Tsala’s women are the heirs to Jean-Gabriel Domergue’s classy Parisiennes, and the mannerist female figures of Amedeo Modigliani. But above all, says Tsala, ‘I am a daughter of the forest. My childhood, to age 18, was spent in my home village, surrounded by great trees. So my figures are like them – human trees. I love to see things positively too. A positive outlook is uplifting.‘

(text is quoted from I am Africa, Intense Art Magazine, issue 01)

With Samuel Dale.

Kristine Tsala

“Je coupe , je découpe, je colle et j’assemble, du papier, du tissu ou de la fibre végétale. Peu à peu il se dégage comme un univers emprunt de reliefs et de couleurs…

Tout se met en place dans ma tête comme dans un marché où la partition des couleurs évoque des terres familières,celles où j’ai grandi. Du peu que je m’en souvienne, bois épars, feuillages secs, racines mises à nu, effervescence des fibres collectées, tissus raccommodés se révélaient à mon égard comme un répertoire qui, aujourd’hui encore se révèle inépuisable…”