Interview with Angèle Etoundi Essamba

Posted under Interviews on 2nd January, 2011

Mojo: How does your African heritage influence your work?
Angèle: My own multicultural trajectory (born in Cameroon, raised in Paris and a Dutch Citizen) has a deep influence on my work. I focused in the creation of black women portraits that question the concepts of identity, alterity and cultural duality, in order to promote mutual respect, understanding and tolerance. It shows pride, strength and consciousness of African women and the relation between tradition and modernity. So I present a vision of Women, Africa and its culture and I find my main inspiration in my African heritage.

Mojo: How do you feel about the ‘Africa Uploaded’ exhibition?
Angèle: I think this title perfectly speaks of itself, indeed Africa is uploaded and there is more to come and to be seen. I am honored to collaborate at this first major exhibition of African artists in the UAE. The exhibition at The Mojo gallery has been made with great care and is one of a high level. The feedback for Africa Uploaded has been very positive and enthusiastic. It shows how important it is to organize more, and on a larger scale. African artists deserve more visibility and hopefully many others will follow in the steps of Annabelle [Nwankwo-Mu'azu] and The Mojo Gallery. This is a beautiful and unique project that has to be encouraged and set forth.

Mojo: You are showing 5 pieces of work, what are you expressing with this selection?
Angèle: My work is a celebration (in the broadest sense) of the woman: her strength, vitality, dignity, grace and sensuality. I picture the female body in a symbolic and aesthetic way. For me, it is a body that speaks of struggles, wounds, fragility and strength; a body that is truly lived by life, and depicts its mysteries. My goal is not only to break with stereotypes on Africa and the black woman (oppression, submission exoticism, poverty etc.) but also to exceed them. It's necessary that African self show the view they carry on their own continent. Also we need images in which we can identify with and relate to. I try to show a contemporary Africa. A continent that is alive and arising. Through Art photography one can develop your own consciousness.

Mojo: Who inspires you?
Angèle: There are so many artists and photographers. Man Ray, Mapplethorpe Erwin Blumenfeld, Lee Miller, S. Keita, M Sidibé, Meissa Gaye, Mama Casset. They were really far ahead their time.

Mojo: How do you evaluate the current situation in Africa?
Angèle: There is still along way to go, but we are on the move.

Mojo: To what extent does the situation impact art and affect support for artists?
Angèle: As an artist, I will speak in terms of art. Unfortunately, contemporary art is not always appreciated at its true value. Apart from a few areas, it lacks the appropriate professional artists structures where they can showcase their work and get a good promotion. Debates, meetings, exchanges must be multiplied. Also artists should be offered more and high visibility. We really need a stronger cultural engagement from our governments. Some countries like Senegal, Mali with their annual art meeting have shown this is possible.

Mojo: Tell us about your plans for 2011
Angèle: I am working on an ongoing project on population of Afro-descent that includes African women in Africa and in the African Diaspora. This project will be presented in different countries next year (2011) as it has been proclaimed UN year of population of Afro-descent.

I'd like to continue to get inspired by my surroundings, my experiences. The woman is an endless source of inspiration, and there 's issues affecting women in the depths of her flesh that I capture. And I'd especially like to share and transmit my experience and other achievements in the field of photography

About Angèle Etoundi Essamba

Angèle Etoundi Essamba was born in Douala and grew-up in Yaoundé, Cameroon. As a young girl, she traveled to Paris and later moved to the Netherlands to study at the Nederlandse Fotovakschool (Netherlands Professional School of Photography). Her photographs were first displayed in 1985 at the Maison Descartes in Amsterdam and she has since exhibited in Africa, Europe, South America and the United States. In the UAE for the first time, Angèle talks to Mojo about her work featured in Africa Uploaded - Experiences Through The Lens.
Read full biography