‘Floating in a universe full of signs, sketches and
doodles’
Thierry Oussou
Location: Ornis A. Gallery, Hazenstraat 11
To be seen: until June 4th 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
Assistant In Ornis Gallery.
