Native from the city of Abidjan, Armand Boua bases his work on the question of human nature, his culture and his situation within the large African metropolises. From the beginning of his career, after his studies at the Fine Arts School, the artist has been interested in the living conditions of street children, denouncing the precariousness and difficulties they encounter on a daily basis. Orphans with unknown genealogies, we speak of children of the street. The city replaces parenthood and it is its codes that shape education.

Armand Boua likes to work from mental images, remembering every detail and every impression associated with them, thus managing to intimately preserve the emotion and movement he observes. If he chooses cardboard as a support, it is primarily because it is a main element in the organisation of the lives of the children of Yopougon. Blankets, shelters, their existence is organised, thought out and conceived around this material.

Once he finishes painting, he models, shapes the canvas without any fear of accident. Armand Boua conceives then destructures, glues then tears, paints then erases until he obtains all the facets of these marked, complex identities and too often forgotten. The artwork is the translation of a tragic reality and the painting of a social diversity as beautiful as it is poignant.

Jardin Rouge Residency – Salle des Casques – From 11 december 2021 to 18 february 2022