Salifou Lindou.
Melody for Victims (sketch), 2014.
Salifou Lindou was born in 1965, in Foumban, a tiny town in West-Cameroon. He lives and works in Douala.
Foumban is well known abroad for its bronze handicraft, labeled World Heritage, but not only. One cannot ignore the saga of Njoya; the beloved and enlighted sultan who reigned in the 19th century and has invented an ideography of his own: the so called Shumon.
View on the Water, 2013.
Growing up as a kid and curious, Lindou was fascinated by the statuettes around him, especially by their form: how do the craftsmen manage and succeed to produce these objects was absolutely intriguing. Fully aware of this, his devoted father used to take his son to the local museum settled within the royal palace. Ecstasy guaranteed for the little boy of course: ’’It was like attending university courses’’ says Lindou today.
Working on a sculpture.
Not surprisingly, at school, the drawing lesson was his best moment, a real must.
Lindou has his first solo exhibition in 1996.
Detail of a metalwork, 2014.
Many years have gone by since the exciting experience of his youth. Lindou is now an experienced artist. Besides the conventional canvass and paper, he uses sheets of iron, sometimes burned, as a medium to provide inspired visions of the urban machine.
Seemingly taciturn, the Douala based artist is in fact very playful.
Salfou Lindou is a member of the Kapsiki group.
Acrylic and engraving.
He had an artist in residency in The Hague in 2013. “The calmness and the beauty of the city helped me to start my work on site with a positive attitude.
The facilities in term of printmaking that were available in the city (the Grafische Werkplaats) helped to realize a dream that I brought along to discover and learn to master the dry needle technique amongst others.
I have learned the graphic techniques and it has been possible to be part of the development of Present Perfect! which will result in future works.
I hope to be able to transport an etching machine to Douala to be able to start a print workshop myself so I can produce my own works and create an atelier for other artists to learn and use the technique.”
In cooperation with Christian Hanussek (Berlin).
Salifou Lindou (Douala) and Christian Hanussek (Berlin) have been collaborating for years. Their photo series entitled „Parfum“ represent promising names on colorful boxes and fancy flacons — Cameroonian products altogether. They contrast with the rough shelves that act as their display and offer the possibility of transformation and appropriation of exotic (i.e. Western) elegance.
