Barthélémy Toguo

Barthélémy Toguo was born in Nkongsamba, Cameroon, in 1967 and lives and works between Paris and Cameroon. 

Barthélémy Toguo’s practice is marked by a constant movement between techniques and media, including drawing, painting, ink, watercolor, printmaking, sculpture, installation, video, and performance. This diversity reflects a life and education shaped by different cultures and countries. Trained in Côte d’Ivoire within a Western artistic tradition, he later encountered in Europe a questioning of many of the same practices. These contradictions have become central to his work, particularly his installations, which explore the difficulty of adapting to a new culture while carrying with you the culture from which you come. 

At Atelier Calder, Toguo explored the writings of Honoré de Balzac, who regularly stayed in Saché, focusing on A Passion in the Desert (1830) and Voyage d’un lion d’Afrique à Paris, a satirical and parodic tale. He used these texts as a starting point for drawings and paintings exploring the complex relationship between humans and animals, both real and imagined. At Saché, he also incorporated earth into his work, creating a series of 250 bricks stamped with the words “No justice no peace stronger together,” alongside a series of terracotta tiles bearing the slogan “My body my choice.”