Kifouli Dossou

Kifouli DOSSOU was born in 1978 in Cové (Benin) where he lives and works. He follows in the footsteps of his big brother Amidou Dossou. It's a family story. His father, Tidjani, carved small statuettes for vodou ceremonies at the request of the people.

In the 80s, the Dossou brothers were discovered by a French collector who made them visible on the international scene of contemporary art. They have gradually carved laic scenes of everyday life. 

In the Yoruba, Guélédé masks are built on the same principle: a face (mask-helmet type) and a scene that develops on the top of the mask. These are used in the context of masquerades dedicated to women in their maternal dimension.

Originally these masks were not worn on the face. Rather they were worn on top of the head. They possess a particular surface due to the color and sculpted effects that make them seem at first glance like terracotta. The Gelede masks, due to their elaborate structures, possess the power to transmit ceremonial stories, epic fables populated with animals and ancestral myths. They can also speak of everyday life. These works which have now lost their ritual function contain an iconic significance. They tell of the survival of the mythical history of the reign of Benin.