by Liby Lougué

Painter Liby Ousmane Lougué was born in Burkina Faso in 1987, and continues to live and work there. With an artist for a father, Lougué started art and painting during his childhood, creating comic books and little portraits that he would sell to his friends. His early paintings often used acrylic paints as well as fabric, collected locally from his mother's workshop, where she worked as a seamstress. His passion for painting developed over time and in 2008 he met Hamed Ouattara, a Burkinabe painter and designer. This marked the start of an enduring artistic partnership between the two men, who continue to collaborate and work together.

Lougué is greatly inspired by the work of the late artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988), and indeed his style is not dissimilar. Much like Basquiat, Liby Lougué's works reflect his identity.

The artist uses art and painting as a means of expression, for his problems, feelings and vision of the world and society. The explosion of colours in his paintings express the issues at the heart of society. His work is exhibited across the world, particularly in Africa, Asia and Europe.