Gagosian Paris presents the works of Romuald Hazoumè through September 17. The exhibition presents the works of Hazoumè spanning two decades which includes sculptures, installation works, and a single large-scale photographic tableau.Hazoumè, from the Republic of Benin, through his works reflects boldly and critically on the immediate realities of contemporary Africa, as well as the broader aspects of pan-African politics and culture in a global context. Hazoumè, born in 1962, uses repetitive and recombinative aesthetic strategies to create elegant objects, intensified by the wordplay of the titles to represent further layers of reference and innuendos.The best known aspect of his art-ranging across media, are the mask sculptures. Composed of plastic ‘bidons’, these masks represent his subversive opinion on the ongoing inequalities of exchange between contemporary Africa and the western world. In contrast to his masks, he created monumental mixed-media installations. "Rat-singer: Second Only to God!" which is a sardonic retort to Pope Benedict XVI’s paternalistic advice to Africans about the society, economy and spirituality. Hazoumè’s entire work is the persistent consequence of corruption and slavery in Africa and the documentation of ways in which common people are subjugated by the insidious forces of economic and political pragmatism.Click on the slideshow for a sneak peek of the exhibition.
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