La mostra, “Chez les miens (Among my people)” dell’artista, Merveille Keleke Kelekele, nato nell’ 2001 nella Repubblica Democratica del Congo e cresciuto in Europa, è visitabile alla Bwo Art Gallery, dal 11 maggio al 6 luglio 2024, da martedì a sabato, rue Vasnitex, Bonapriso, Douala, info@bwoartgallery.com, http://www.bwoartgallery.com
Merveille Kelekele Kelekele, Page blanche, besoin de me ressourcer, de ressentir, prendre du recul, c’est une bagarre dans ma tête, c’est burn-out… , 2024, olio su tela. Courtesy of the artist and Bwo.
BIOGRAPHY MERVEILLE KELEKELE KELEKELE
Studio portrait of artist Merveille Kelekele Kelekele. Photo credits: Tinko Czetwertynski.
Merveille Kelekele Kelekele’s (b 2001, Democratic Republic of the Congo), paintings depict the crossing over our dreams into waking hours. Raised in the Congo until the age of nine, Kelekele, Kelekele experienced constant national and familial displacement, having moved between homes across Europe every few years. Kelekele Kelekele’s paintings draw inspiration from his awareness of metaphysical creatures, amorphous in shape and indeterminate in size, that accompanied him through his adolescent journey. His life’s journey, spanning multiple continents and experiences, is encapsulated in the canvases, and often augmented by personal objects. Kelekele Kelekele doesn’t just paint he orchestrates an environment where the viewer becomes an active participant in the unfolding narrative.
His work functions as a journey not just into his own psyche but into a collective consciousness, fusing nightmare and dreams into a rich tapestry pf monsters, souls, and creatures. Surreal, spindly creatures are set within washed natural – tone backdrops reminiscent of the pervasive, red sands from his early years in Africa. Conveying the visceral presence of these creatures within his own daily life, Keleke Kelekele often appropriates personal objects into his nightmarish tableus, such as his beloved Kofia hats and necklaces. Present (and sometimes hidden) within each of his paintings is a seemingly aloof version of the Kelekele with a companion crow, both painted tiny in scale. Despite, the magnanimous quality of these methaphysical creatures, Kelekele broaches quietly an individual’s ability to either surmount and manifest hallucinations, nightmares, hopes and dreams. In a world he describes as a ” great machine” careening perhaps toward its own undoing, Kelekele Kelekele’s work offers a momentary pause, a space for reflection and reorientation.
Merveille Kelekele Kelekele, Corneille me rend visite chaque nuit, on parle de belle misérable vie, 2024, olio su tela. Courtesy of the artist and Bwo.
Recent solo exhibitions include Balanced Psychopath, Casa MB, Italy; and Merveille Kelekele, Association PERSAN, Paris, France. Recent group exhibitions include Nos Découvertes 2023!, Galerie du Jour Agnès B., Paris, France; Rêve lucide, FLAW Gallery, Paris, France; Les Apartés Festival, Les Apartés & Point Éphémère, Paris, France, and Exposition Collective Libre n°3, 3537 Organization, Paris, France. In 2023, Kelekele was an artist- in-residence at Domo Damo in São Paolo, Brazil. Kelekele, studied aux Beaux Arts in Paris where he still lives and works.