Sebastien Boko
Sculptor | Benin
Sebastien Boko (b.1984) is a Beninese sculptor whose practice is rooted in familial transmission and West-African cultural heritage. Working primarily with wood, metal, and recycled materials, he creates semi-figurative and abstract sculptures that explore spirituality, identity, and collective memory. His work combines ancestral knowledge and spirituality with contemporary elements, weaving together symbolic forms that reflect the dispersing of heritage through generations through both in a physical presence, sculptural craft, and intangible elements.
Portrait
Sebastien Boko (1984), born into a family of sculptors in Benin, inherited a deep connection to wood, a material his family believes carries both blood and sap. He trained in his father’s workshop in Zogbodomey, refining his craft through collaborations with Dominic Zinkpé and international residencies. Though sculpture remains his primary medium, Boko seamlessly incorporates performance, installations, slam poetry, and music, making his work both diverse and distinctive.
His semi-figurative and abstract sculptures draw on the symbolism of the African Gélèdè culture, reinterpreted through contemporary forms and mixed materials. He combines wood with metal, recycled objects, and symbolic elements like padlocks and chains, often repurposing oil barrels and auto parts to add layers of meaning. This fusion of tradition and modernity gives his sculptures a unique narrative depth.
Boko is widely recognized in Benin and has received several awards. He has participated in numerous international exhibitions and symposiums across France, Austria, Switzerland, Turkey, China, Japan, Tanzania, Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, Togo, and the Netherlands. In 2024, he was featured in Revelation! Contemporary Art from Benin at the Conciergerie in Paris.
Sebastien Boko (1984), born into a family of sculptors in Benin, inherited a deep connection to wood, a material his family believes carries both blood and sap. He trained in his father’s workshop in Zogbodomey, refining his craft through collaborations with Dominic Zinkpé and international residencies. Though sculpture remains his primary medium, Boko seamlessly incorporates performance, installations, slam poetry, and music, making his work both diverse and distinctive.
His semi-figurative and abstract sculptures draw on the symbolism of the African Gélèdè culture, reinterpreted through contemporary forms and mixed materials. He combines wood with metal, recycled objects, and symbolic elements like padlocks and chains, often repurposing oil barrels and auto parts to add layers of meaning. This fusion of tradition and modernity gives his sculptures a unique narrative depth.
In his recent series Transcendance, Boko explores the human spirit, its evolution, and the passage beyond physical existence. The head becomes a central metaphor for consciousness and transformation, while engraved circuit-like motifs evoke contemporary networks of connectivity, linking spiritual growth with technological and generational change. These modern technological elements also question the place for humanity, connection, and spirituality in the modern world. The series title, Transcendance, proposes a movement beyond pure physicality toward a renewed form of connection, reflected in the interwoven minds and abstract structures, and situates humanity within a continuous chain of perception shaped by ancestors and extended toward future generations.
Boko is widely recognized in Benin and has received several awards. He has participated in numerous international exhibitions and symposiums across France, Austria, Switzerland, Turkey, China, Japan, Tanzania, Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, Togo, and the Netherlands. In 2024, he was featured in Revelation! Contemporary Art from Benin at the Conciergerie in Paris, and more recently participated in the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in New York.
Works
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Credentials
2019
- Veils, French Institute Cotonou, International Show of Architects, Cotonou
2025
- 1-54 Art Fair, New York, USA
- Nu hxi hxa (comptage), Institut Français, Cotonou Benin
2024
- Art du Bénin, Martinique
- Residency at Studio Korver Rapley, Taranaki, New Zealand
- Interstellaire, Septième Galerie, Benin
2023
- Biennale de Sculpture BISO, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
- La Foire de Bordeaux (with Galerie Sowien), France
- Mémoires intemporelles, Gallery Soview, Accra, Ghana
- Abrakasa, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
- Élévation, Maison Rouge, Cotonou, Benin
- Reconnexions, Institut Français, Benin
2022
- Ostraka International Sculpture Symposium, New Cairo, Egypt
- Résilience, Residence of EU Ambassador, Cotonou, Benin
- NOTARI ART, Chambre des Notaires d’Afrique, Cotonou, Benin
- Trêve et Rêve, Galerie AS, Cotonou, Benin
- Cotonou Vibes, Galerie Zato, Cotonou, Benin
2021
- Fusion, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
- Transcendance, Novotel, Cotonou, Benin
- Mascarade, Maison Rouge, Cotonou, Benin
- L’Art-trine, Maison Rouge, Cotonou, Benin
- Belle Bibliothèque, Unik – Lieu de Création Contemporaine, Abomey, Benin
- Trance et mystère, Le Centre, Cotonou, Benin
2020
- Porte Ouverte, Atelier Sébastien Boko, Cotonou, Benin
- Le Monde au Féminin, EITB, Cotonou, Benin
- Focus, Galerie Nationale du Bénin
2019
- World Youth Forum, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt
- INAMI International Wooden Sculpture Symposium, Nanto City, Japan
- World Wood Day, Graz, Austria
- Salon International des Architectes, Cotonou, Benin
2018
- Festival International des Arts Plastiques, Assouindé, Côte d’Ivoire
- OFF Biennale de Dakar, Senegal
- The Week, Maison Rouge, Cotonou, Benin
- Rentrée Diplomatique, Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, Cotonou, Benin
2017
- International Wood Sculpture Symposium, Brienz, Switzerland
- Les Échos de Lobozounkpa, Centre Arts & Culture Robert Vallois, Cotonou, Benin
2016
- World Wood Day, Odunpazarı Museum, Eskisehir, Turkey
- FAIVA Festival, Bamako, Mali
- Exhibition-Workshop with Coffi Sètondji & Ludovic Fadairo, Benin
- COP21, Institut Français, Cotonou
- Fille en uniforme, Institut Français, Cotonou
- 3 Dimensions, Centre Arts & Culture Robert Vallois, Cotonou
- Cénacle Expérimentale, Institut Français, Cotonou
- L’Envol, Air France, Cotonou
- Bénin’Art, Place des Martyrs, Cotonou
2014
- World Wood Day, Shanghai / Xianyou / Kunming, China
2013
- World Wood Day, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
- Prom’Art Jeune International (8th edition), Cotonou, Benin
2012
- International Wood Sculpture Symposium, Libreville, Gabon
- Génération Intense, Maison Rouge, Cotonou
- German Cultural Week, Residence of German Ambassador, Cotonou
- Biennale Regard Bénin
- Densité Génération Nouvelle
- Unik – Lieu de Création Contemporaine, Abomey
- La Débrouille, Cotonou
2011
- DO IT, Institut Français de Lomé, Togo
- 3 Arts, Société Générale, Cotonou
- Ahwan Kpo Do Té, Place des Martyrs, Cotonou
2023
- 3rd prize at the 2023 International biennale of Ouagadougou, BURKINA FASO
2015
- Price Board of the Agreement: Bénin art, Royal Hotel Cotonou, Benin
2010 & 2013
- Fesnac,1st and 2nd prize National Festival of Arts and Culture, Benin
- Prom’art Young International, 8th Grand Prix of Cotonou Sculpture, Benin
- World Wood Day 'Strongest Content', African Sculptor Award 2013, Dar Es Salam, Tanzania
2012
- Gold Price, National Wood Sculpture Competition, organized by International Wood Culture Society, Cotonou, Benin
2011
- Departmental Festival of Arts And Culture, 1st Prize, Tori, Benin
2024
- Hello 2024!, OpenArtExchange, Schiedam (Rotterdam), Netherlands
2020
- Africa Now, OpenArtExchange, Schiedam (Rotterdam), Netherlands