Nathanel VODOUHE

Cotonou, Benin

Nathanel VODOUHE is a young artist from Cotonou, Benin, with a particular universe! Bit by bit and serenely, he invites us to discover these forests, these plantations of these thin sculptures that look like cigarettes! He is calm, like the wise old man looking back at our society. He stays away from agitation, effervescence, to the instantaneous. He explores and observes the contemporary world. He pinned in his sculptures, the paths of our addictions. As he points out, art schools are still quite rare in Africa. His artistic training, he built it through his encounters. He joined the workshop of Dominique ZINKPE. And then, he continued his research through artistic exchanges, residencies carried out among others, in Morocco, Senegal, Belgium, France… These are privileged moments, of collaboration, of questioning, of destruction and reconstruction. A long journey where there is still so much to go! He works with the natural material, wood. It avoids the use of the precious essences of Africa. These rare woods that take countless years to grow, flourish to become its giant trees. His choice is eucalyptus; its trees grow like arrows towards the heavens, with rapid growth. He chose these trees planted and cultivated by man as raw material, out of respect for nature. ZINKPE ‘s child flies with his own wings, he hasn’t finished surprising us! Faced with his works, we are projected into the universe of our own addictions

Nathanel VODOUHE's works