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The Montresso Foundation has initiated the second edition of their IN-DISCPLINE residency series

IN-DISCIPLINE is a travelling programme that supports the creation and diffusion of visual artists in Africa and other regions in the world.  It was born at Montresso residence Jardin Rouge during the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, 2018, in Marrakesh and curated by visual artist and curator Dominique Zinkpé. Dominique is also the director of the multidisciplinary cultural space of Abomey-Calavi in Benin.

IN-DISCIPLINE includes core missions that rely on Morocco and the city of Marrakech as platforms of international visibility. The project’s pilot phase attempted to combine research and laboratory time with moments of direct contact with professionals and with the international market.

Gopal Dagnogo, résidence Jardin Rouge, 2018. All images courtesy of Montresso Foundation.

IN-DISCIPLINE #2 is joined by a major figure of contemporary African art Yacouba Konaté, curator, writer, art critic, professor of philosophy and curating. Among many commitments, this fervent defender and connoisseur of contemporary African and Ivorian creation is a member of the Academy of Arts, Sciences and Cultures of Africa and Diasporas of Abidjan, director of the Rotonde des Arts Contemporains in the Nour-al-Hayat Gallery, Plateau, Abidjan.

He will accompany the dual approach of the program IN-DISCIPLINE, which beyond supporting a selection of young artists, aims to contribute to the development of the art market in Africa.

The Montresso Art Foundation invited five Ivorian artists. Gopal Dagnogo, Joachim Silue, Pascal Konan, Armand Boua and Yeanzi.

Joachim Silué, résidence Jardin Rouge, 2018.

The works of Gopal Dagnogo act as the tools of a reconciliation with the sacred. Memory, consciousness, confused images jostle each other, collide, and sometimes isolate themselves. Playing with superimposition, the painter invents and re-enchants contemporary mythology which, beyond an obvious cultural syncretism, underlines the inner paradoxes and contradictions of a world both more civilised and more violent.

Joachim Silué develops the series Mental Slavery and questions our submission to codes governed by society. Echoing the myth of Narcissus, this insidious relationship of dependence is expressed especially through the recurring use of the comb or broken mirrors.

In Pascal Konan’s studio, we can see a planet obstructed by dark spots evoking the degradation of the ozone layer. The issue of electronic waste strewn on the Ivorian streets and more generally in West Africa is illustrated through the artists work.

Pascal Konan, résidence Jardin Rouge, 2018.

The question of identity is at the heart of Yeanzi’s work. Through the portrait, the artist implicitly reveals the personality of individuals with dual identities, regularly using assumed names. Such as the testimony of the mask they wear in society, Yeanzi gives their names to his works.

Armand Boua’s work deals with the human condition. His works thus reveal faces without forms of forgotten street children, showing the violence that continues to characterise the political struggles in West Africa.

Through its artistic residence Jardin Rouge, its art space and off-site actions, the Montresso Foundation is committed alongside the artists to promote multiple approaches that transcend borders and standards. 

Lukho Witbooi

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