Sadikou Oukpedjo

Biography

Born in 1975 in Kétao, Togo, and based in Abidjan, Sadikou Oukpedjo's art captivates with its enigmatic power. His creations seem to emerge from an immemorial time, exhumed from a place untouched by the passage of time. The imposing figures that populate his work are revealed sometimes absorbed in silent introspection, removed from the world's turmoil, and sometimes engaged in intense scenes of confrontation. Oukpedjo's universe transports us to a temporal and material elsewhere, where the almost mineral texture of his supports evokes the raw force of sculpture and the pictorial narration of ancestral rock paintings. His therianthropic figures, merging human and animal, are inscribed in a rich mythological heritage, from Egyptian deities to shamanic rites. Like Greek and African mythologies, Oukpedjo stages heroes and their epics, sometimes fantastic creatures, intermediaries between the divine and the terrestrial, offering an imaginative interpretation of our societies and the origin of our civilizations. His representations are charged with an invisible presence and its power, exploring the unknown and the hidden. The artist depicts the human in his quest to understand the world, shaping nature and seeking the secrets that could give him power. He is simultaneously magician, master, illusionist, and scholar, facing the inevitable metamorphosis of life that transcends the world of ideas. Whether delicate pastels on paper, monumental outdoor sculptures, large canvases, engravings, ceramics, or carved stones, each work reflects a profound inner state, a silent dialogue with oneself. This morphological and anatomical exploration touches on the spiritual dimension. The creatures that Sadikou Oukpedjo brings to life constitute an archive of human consciousness, traversed by the question of its primary origin and tending towards an uncertain future. The aesthetic subtlety of the works of this visionary artist reveals the finesse of the ideas he explores. His critique, although penetrating, is never devoid of tenderness, and his lucid gaze blends sadness and hope. If human struggles are often harsh, the artist reminds us that even the gods have been able to defy their destiny. Through the beauty of antagonisms, open or intimate, Sadikou Oukpedjo offers us an oracle's word with multiple meanings, expressed with force and poetry in his creations.