Het Parool 21 659, Friday May 20th 2016 Page 20. ART EXPOSITIONS

‘Floating in a universe full of signs, sketches and doodles’

Thierry Oussou

Location: Ornis A. Gallery, Hazenstraat 11

To be seen: until June 4^{th 2016}

COBRA is not dead. COBRA is still very much alive and it lives and dwells in the head of Thierry Oussou. However, this young artist from Benin did not have a thorough knowledge of this western European artistic movement when he applied for the Dutch Rijksakademie, two years ago. This autodidact artist did know the oeuvres of Appel, Constant and Corneille, but only from online images. Nonetheless, we could state that his energetic, expressionistic style obviously shows some similarities with the avant-garde artist from 60 years ago, but in a completely authentic and contemporary manner.                                                       Oussou lives and works in The Netherlands for one-and-a-half-year now, and gets ahead very fast. His presentation during RijksakademieOpen, past November, was exiting. However, the quality of his work was a bit overshadowed by the quantity. These days, he dares to make decisions and this points out to be a very stimulating impulse for his first solo exhibition at the gallery.

 Oussou’s grand scale intensely black drawings possess an absorbing quality, forcing the viewer to truly and extensively observe them. The images are constantly revolving around one (human) figure with an angular head; holes representing the eyes and mouth – a mask. This figure seems to float in a universe filled with signs, sketches and doodles. Recognizable elements are trucks, lizard-like animals, suitcases, and chairs. Every separate element seems to bear meaning. The recurring ladders are a symbol for societal mobility. At the same time, they are referring to specific parts of the guitar as an instrument of the West-African storyteller or praise singer - the one passing on oral history in the form of a song.

Oussou did start using more vivid colours, thereby sharpening the colour contrasts. Nevertheless, he did not depart from using paper as his basic medium. He pastes or glues pieces of paper on top of each other, sometimes making use of half-burned pieces of paper. The wood, from which the paper is made, also plays a pivotal role in his work. In this solo exhibition, he made sculptures from pieces of wood, placed on top of each other. They are meditative towers, markers of a potential bonfire, which is not lightened yet. New in Oussou’s oeuvre are the drawings on brown paper bags, made of recycled paper. He hung them high on the walls, each one tied to one handle, making them deviate just a little from the wall. As a consequence, the colourful drawings immediately seem to dawn upon the viewer. By doing this, Oussou provides these seemingly worthless consumer articles with a sculptural quality.

Written by: Edo Dijksterhuis And

 Translate in English by: Brégje Elisabeth Janser.

Assistant In Ornis Gallery.