NYABA OUEDRAOGO
BURKINA FASO
PRESENTATION
Imbued with a double culture, an in-between, Nyaba Ouedraogo lives and works between Ouagadagou and Paris. His aesthetic and documentary images question the political, economic, sociological and ecological era. Self-taught, he criss-crosses Ghana on the lookout for copper waste collectors, stone breakers from a quarry in Burkina Faso and follows the transporters of public dumps in Côte d'Ivoire.
Presented at the Bamako Biennale in 2013, "L'enfer du cuivre" (Copper Hell) retraces with veracity the exploitation of a youth in search of employment exposed to chemical poisoning. Pushing further the limits of his art, Nyaba's work reveals a mythological content where men and women are grappling with natural forces such as fire, earth, and the tropical forest, living subjects that shape the composition of his stories. The metaphor of water takes its full measure in "The Phantoms of Congo River" series produced between 2011 and 2013. The photographer is inspired by Joseph Conrad's cult novel "In the Heart of Darkness" to revive the spirits of the river, which are conducive to beliefs, myths, rituals and shares the daily life of the riverside residents. In 2015, "Les dévoreuses d'âme", a diptych in the documentary vein presented at the Quai Branly Museum, will be followed by "Les dévoreuses d'âme", a diptych in the documentary vein presented at the Quai Branly Museum. An enigmatic work, open to mystical beliefs. In 2020, Nyaba's inclination for the human brings him to grasp an Africa in full mutation through the triptych "The Popular Theater" exhibited at 1:54 New York Art Fair.
Finally, "The visible and the invisible" series realized in Ouagadougou in 2020 signs a new aesthetic, Nyaba, colorist puts pop tones. Ultimate sign of dialogue, transformation, the mask unites identities and forces in perpetual movement in an artistic confrontation that brings together past and present. Awarded the European Union prize at the 9th Rencontres de la photographie in Bamako Nyaba Ouedraogo, is a finalist for the 2010 Prix Pictet. Winner of the Résidences Photoquai Musée du Quai Branly 2013, he has been nominated for the Prix Pictet in 2014 and Prince Claus in 2015. His works are included in the collections of the Fondation Blachère, the Musée du Quai Branly and the Museum of Manchester in the United Kingdom.
WORKS
SOLO & GROUP SHOW
Solo show
2019 Sculpter le temps galerie Felix Frachon, Bruxelles Monographie
2013 Voz’Galerie, Boulogne Monographie
2012 Galerie Particulière, Paris L’Enfer du Cuivre & Casseurs de Granit
2010 Galerie Ben, Paris L’Enfer du Cuivre
2009 Tour Saint-Aubin, Semaine Européenne de la Culture, Angers L’Enfer du Cuivre
2006 Enfants de Bahia, Paris Identitée Noire
2005 Sur le vif, L'espace 7 Parnassiens, Paris “ Mic mac contemporain”
2004 Casablanca, Maroc Mic mac contemporain
Group show
2020
COLORS OF AFRICA, 193 Gallery, Paris, France
1:54 New-York Art Fair Galerie Afikaris, Paris Le Théâtre populaire
Institut français, Ouagadougou Alternance
2019
Les Rencontres d'Arles Galerie Art-Z Olivier Sultan, Paris The Phantoms of Congo River
2018
« Letter in my dream » Galerie Felix Frachon, Bruxelles Monographie
Fondation Clément, Martinique The Phantoms of Congo River
2017
« Route d'Afrique » musée du Quai Branly, Paris L'Enfer du Cuivre
« Regard sur cour » île de Goré & musée Dapper The Phantoms of Congo River
2015
L’Afrique Urbaine et Ses Marges, Fondation Jean-Paul Blachère
Les dévoreuses d'âmes
2014
Earth Matters: Land as Material and Metaphor in the Arts of Africa, Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles L'Enfer du Cuivre
Mois de la photographie, Vienne L'Enfer du Cuivre
Festival photo, Bilbao L'Enfer du Cuivre
2013
Earth Matters: Land as Material and Metaphor in the Arts of Africa, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC L'Enfer du Cuivre
2012
We Face Forward: Art from West Africa Today, Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester L'Enfer du Cuivre
Prix Pictet – Growth, Ayyam Gallery, Beirut L'Enfer du Cuivre
2011
Prix Pictet – Growth, Gallery of Photography, Dublin
The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC L'Enfer du Cuivre
Arteversum, Düsseldorf L'Enfer du Cuivre
Thessaloniki Museum of Photography, Thessaloniki L'Enfer du Cuivre
Passage de Retz, Paris L'Enfer du Cuivre
“Visa pour l'image” Perpignan L'Enfer du Cuivre
« Growth », Prix Pictet, exposition de shortlistés, Passage de Retz,
Paris
Real Jardin Botanico, Madrid L'Enfer du Cuivre
Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego L'Enfer du Cuivre
The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC L'Enfer du Cuivre
Museum of Photography, Dublin L'Enfer du Cuivre
The Empty Quarter Gallery, Dubai L'Enfer du Cuivre
Ayyam Gallery, Beyrouth L'Enfer du Cuivre
2010
« 3e Festival Mondial des Arts Nègres », Dakar, L'Enfer du Cuivre
« Climate change in Africa », Cancun, L'Enfer du Cuivre
« Prix Pictet », Galerie Les Filles du Calvaire, Paris L'Enfer du Cuivre
REWARDS
L’Union européenne aux 9ème Rencontres de la photographie de Bamako (2011).
Finaliste du prix Pictet 2010, et lauréat des Résidences Photoquai 2013 - Musée du Quai Branly.
Nominé pour le prix Pictet en 2014 et le prix Prince Claus en 2015
PRESSE
The Guardian « My best shot » -
La Galerie Particuliere :
Lumieres d'Afriques :
Aficaris : - Photo, N° 460, juin - Géo Magazine, avril
Fondation Dapper :
France Cultures :
RFI :