Peintre Obou

"I am Painter Obou, born in 1992 in the west of the Ivory Coast. In love with arts and culture since my young age, it is there that I make my first classes. I have always kept the dream of being an artist, spokesman for my culture. In 2009, I was admitted to the entrance exam to the Lycée d'Enseignement Artistique d'Abidjan (L.E.A.). I obtained an artistic baccalaureate that allows me to enter the National School of Fine Arts in Abidjan in 2014. After a year of common core, I specialize in painting, which gives me a chance to have teachers artists who put me each time on the right path, and push me to question myself and enrich my work. I had no difficulty finding a subject for my thesis for the master's degree: it was obvious to me to work on my life experiences, and especially on the human condition. In 2018, I obtained a professional master's degree in painting with the theme "Life in the slums". Today, I tell my story by reappropriating the codes and values of my culture. I wear my Dan culture loud and clear to the point of being its ambassador. I wear the mask and I am the mask. I tell through these codes the story of my life, my city, I leave traces for future generations." - Peintre Obou