13 Gardiens Dan, 2026

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