MOUNOU DÉSIRÉ KOFFI
Painter | Ivory Coast
Mounou Désiré Koffi (1994) is an emerging visual artist from Ivory Coast, who not only uses mobile phone keyboards to express the concept of technological evolution, but also raises the accompanying issue of technological obsolescence and environmental pollution as well as other observations such as floods, traffic jams, child soldiers, or simply urban identities passing by.
Africa is a unique source of inspiration, this is where it all began for me. Most of my paintings talk about the daily life of man in society. I work on what challenges me and what is topical
PORTRAIT
Mounou Desiré Koffi (1994), born from a farmers family in the South-West of Ivory Coast, stood out at a young age for his drawing and painting talent, which eventually landed him at the Academy of Fina Arts in Abidjan, where he graduated in painting. Already in his bachelor years, he picked up his fascination for recycling materials, notably mobile phone materials.
He noted that vast numbers of old mobile phones were littering the streets of Abidjan, becoming dangerous waste for children to play with. So he started a project to give these phones a second life by integrating them into bright coloured pop art paintings about urban street life in Abidjan. Since then his exploration has taken him to different ways of expression, both in subjects and materials with one constant: the use of recycled mobile keypads. In that he expresses not only the concept of technological evolution, but also raises the accompanying issue of technological obsolescence and environmental pollution as well as other issues of our time.
By now he has not only raised awareness about the environmental pollution but also recycled many tens of thousands of mobile keypads in his works. He pays a team to gather the mobile phones from the streets in large quantities, whilst people in Abidjan increasingly deposit their old phones with the team for free. Similar projects are being considered in other African countries such as Benin, Mali of Guinea.
His art works have further developed into varying series from urban landscapes to the urban identities he observes in daily Abidjan life. Figurative silhouettes combining the keypads on different surfaces, such as canvas, wood or iron gauze screens.
In his latest series, Mounou combines human silhouettes and inverses of silhouettes of mobile keypads in textile works on recycled jute and natural linen in earthy tones, covered with coloured acrylic prints which call for tolerance and peace.
Despite his young age, Mounou has been recognized early on in his career. He has participated in various solo exhibition and group exhibitions way beyond Ivory Coast, notably in Senegal, Morocco, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Netherlands and UK.
Mounou Desiré Koffi (1994), born from a farmers family in the South-West of Ivory Coast, stood out at a young age for his drawing and painting talent, which eventually landed him at the Academy of Fina Arts in Abidjan, where he graduated in painting. Already in his bachelor years, he picked up his fascination for recycling materials, notably mobile phone materials.
He noted that vast numbers of old mobile phones were littering the streets of Abidjan, becoming dangerous waste for children to play with. So he started a project to give these phones a second life by integrating them into bright coloured pop art paintings about urban street life in Abidjan. Since then his exploration has taken him to different ways of expression, both in subjects and materials with one constant: the use of recycled mobile keypads. In that he expresses not only the concept of technological evolution, but also raises the accompanying issue of technological obsolescence and environmental pollution as well as other issues of our time.
By now he has not only raised awareness about the environmental pollution but also recycled many tens of thousands of mobile keypads in his works. He pays a team to gather the mobile phones from the streets in large quantities, whilst people in Abidjan increasingly deposit their old phones with the team for free. Similar projects are being considered in other African countries such as Benin, Mali of Guinea.
His art works have further developed into varying series from urban landscapes to the urban identities he observes in daily Abidjan life. Figurative silhouettes combining the keypads on different surfaces, such as canvas, wood or iron gauze screens.
In his latest series, Mounou combines human silhouettes and inverses of silhouettes of mobile keypads in textile works on recycled jute and natural linen in earthy tones, covered with coloured acrylic prints which call for tolerance and peace.
Despite his young age, Mounou has been recognized early on in his career. He has participated in various solo exhibition and group exhibitions way beyond Ivory Coast, notably in Senegal, Morocco, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Netherlands and UK.
WORKS
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CREDENTIALS
Solo exhibitions
2022
- Comme unique, Fondation BJKD, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
- Life there, Donwahi Foundation, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
2021
- Mercredy Arty, Yemaya Design, Pullman Hotel, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
2019
- L’Innocence, galerie iLAB-Design, Genève, Switzerland
- Regards croisés, duo solo with Kim Bennani at Terre Océane, Loft Art Galery & Yamed Promotion, Casablanca, Morocco
- Disconnection, Galerie Art-z, Paris, France
Group exhibitions
2022
- DAF Frankfurt, via OpenArtExchange, Frankfurt, Germany
- Africa Now II, OpenArtExchange, Schiedam (Rotterdam), Netherlands
- Soufle d’Afrique (Breath of Africa), So Art gallery, Casablance, Morocco
- Africa – The renaissance on the move, Blaise Senghor Cultural center/Dak’Art OFF, OBART/ART Kelen/Jérémy Cauden, Dakar, Senegal
2021
- Rio Loco art festival, Toulouse City hall, Toulouse, France
2020
- African art acution, Bonham, London, United Kingdom
2019
- GRAPA ed3, collective l’AKAFA, galerie Pascal Polar, Brussels, Belgium
- African art auction Piasa, Paris, France
- Group show III, Gallery ArtTime, Abidjan, Ivory Coast/online
- Donkey Art Gallery, Tangier, Morocco
2018
- Exhibition and auction Child soldiers, Hotel Drouot/Invisable Borders Foundation and Afikaris/Nelly Wandji Gallery, Paris, France
- GRAPA ed2, collective l’AKAFA/Kevin Michel at galerie Ravenstein, Brussels, Belgium
Artistic Residence
2022
- OpenArtExchange, Schiedam (Rotterdam), Netherlands
Collections
- Jeremy Cauden, Ivory Coast
- Mattia Starace, Belgium
- LIMES Schlossklinik Art Collection, Germany
2022
- Comme unique, Fondation BJKD, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
- Life there, Donwahi Foundation, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
2021
- Mercredy Arty, Yemaya Design, Pullman Hotel, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
2019
- L’Innocence, galerie iLAB-Design, Genève, Switzerland
- Regards croisés, duo solo with Kim Bennani at Terre Océane, Loft Art Galery & Yamed Promotion, Casablanca, Morocco
- Disconnection, Galerie Art-z, Paris, France
2022
- DAF Frankfurt, via OpenArtExchange, Frankfurt, Germany
- Africa Now II, OpenArtExchange, Schiedam (Rotterdam), Netherlands
- Soufle d’Afrique (Breath of Africa), So Art gallery, Casablance, Morocco
- Africa – The renaissance on the move, Blaise Senghor Cultural center/Dak’Art OFF, OBART/ART Kelen/Jérémy Cauden, Dakar, Senegal
2021
- Rio Loco art festival, Toulouse City hall, Toulouse, France
2020
- African art acution, Bonham, London, United Kingdom
2019
- GRAPA ed3, collective l’AKAFA, galerie Pascal Polar, Brussels, Belgium
- African art auction Piasa, Paris, France
- Group show III, Gallery ArtTime, Abidjan, Ivory Coast/online
- Donkey Art Gallery, Tangier, Morocco
2018
- Exhibition and auction Child soldiers, Hotel Drouot/Invisable Borders Foundation and Afikaris/Nelly Wandji Gallery, Paris, France
- GRAPA ed2, collective l’AKAFA/Kevin Michel at galerie Ravenstein, Brussels, Belgium
2022
- OpenArtExchange, Schiedam (Rotterdam), Netherlands
2023
- Project Grant, Grant for research and the development of new work in collaboration with CACAU (São Tôme, West-Africa), Fonds voor Cultuur Participatie, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
2018
- The Willem Barentsz Award, Wageningen University, The Netherlands.
- Jeremy Cauden, Ivory Coast
- Mattia Starace, Belgium
- LIMES Schlossklinik Art Collection, Germany