YAKO - 2024 - Ongoing
“Yako” is a common Ivorian expression, we say Yako to someone going through a difficult time whether they are tired, sick, depressed, or have lost a loved one. It’s more than just a word; it represents a way of showing compassion and solidarity in the face of pain. It even refers to a ceremony during funerals. Yako truly reflects a core aspect of Ivorian social culture

As an artist I question a lot legacy, how our choices influence our afterlife.
I find myself questioning how cultural rituals and spiritual beliefs around death shapes us. Having grown up in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.

I’ve witnessed how mourning and celebration often coexist how the body is honored, and the soul guided.Funerals are both ceremonies of grief and joy, filled with rhythm, dance, and storytelling. As I explore visual ways to interpret death across different cultures, I am researching how this universal experience can be expressed not only through personal or cultural lenses, but in a form that resonates beyond borders and beliefs. In seeking a visual language for death, I am not looking for answers, but for ways to hold space for mystery.

Prizes:

Metro Imaging Award 2025

New Photography Prize 2025

MATERIA PRIMA - 2025
The concept of “Materia Prima” is directly borrowed from the hermetic spiritual tradition, especially to the “alchemy tradition” where it refers to the “First Matter,” the first element that is used at the beginning stage of the process of alchemical transmutation.

This project explores the duality between darkness and light, black and gold, confusion and enlightenment.
While darkness triggers an overpowering feeling of fear and insecurity in humans, it is also the colour of the
cosmos, of deep space... from which life is born.

Team 
Photography | Retouch | Design : Yvann Zahui
Concept | Creative Direction & Styling: Marlyse Gakpa
Model: Thadine Crossman

WHEN HOPE MEETS
NATURE - 2024
“When Hope Meets Nature” suggests a harmonious relationship between human aspirations and the natural world, where hope acts as a catalyst for environmental stewardship and collective action. Central to my work is the exploration and celebration of the innovative practices championed by INFPA (INSTITUT NATIONAL DE FORMATION PROFESSIONNELLE AGRICOLE) under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture.

The institution does above-ground production in greenhouses, cultivating crops within a controlled environment.Greenhouses provide a controlled climate, allowing for year-round cultivation and protection from
adverse weather conditions. Not only in crops but how animal excrement plays a crucial role in enriching the soil through nutrient cycling. I delve into the good and bad practices such as the use of pesticides.

Pesticide residues can contaminate food and water sources, leading to ingestion, further health risks, and death. A clear example from the Gôh region in Gagnoa (Kpapékou), where a family of four suffered food poisoning from pesticides. Despite the perception of agriculture as outdated or unremarkable, it serves as a dynamic and innovative field with significant potential for growth and development. Through my immersion at INFPA, I had the opportunity to engage with students who are passionate about driving change and innovation within the industry. These students are eager to pursue projects and studies that can revolutionize agricultural practices, yet they often face challenges in securing adequate financing and support.

I talk about how regenerative agriculture, a transformative approach that remains underrepresented among practitioners in Côte d’Ivoire. Regenerative agriculture holds profound importance for the future, not only as a means of sustainable food production but also for its potential to address pressing environmental and social challenges.

Côte d’Ivoire faces environmental challenges like deforestation and soil degradation, threatening its ecosystems and biodiversity. This approach also helps mitigate climate change effects, ensuring the preservation
of natural resources for future generations.


Team 
Stylism: Ekra Suame
Model: Christ Djack
Bodypaint : Maicha Myra Konaté

 


 

SUPERFICIAL - 2023
"Superficial" is a thought-provoking series that delves into a question that I have been asking myself for the past few months: Why do we find ourselves in a generation plagued by low self-esteem? The cosmetic surgery industry has seen a significant boom in Africa over the years.

What used to be a luxury has now become as commonplace as taking a simple painkiller. However, what troubles the artist is the prevalence of unlicensed individuals who hold the fate of innocent lives in their hands. I chose Grand-Bassam as the setting, the first capital of Ivory Coast and historically known as the first slavery coast in the country.

It serves as a poignant reminder of how bodies were once exchanged for money and freedom, a painful history that still echoes in contemporary issues. This project follows the journey of the beautiful women who struggle to find contentment with their inner self and body. They seek external solutions to obtain the physique they desire so much.

Team 
Stylism : Ekra Suame
Model : Marie Ange Kouassi
Assistant : Gninlan Toure

THE MEMORY OF THE NOMAD - 2022

A nomad has a continuous movement with no fixed habitation.
The need to be in a free world.
To recenter the important things in our lives.
We tend to forget the values that qualify us as humans.
During our journey on earth, we have good and bad moments we want to remember.
The thin line that holds us together is our Memory.
I consider oursleves all nomads.

Team 
Models : Paul Nguessan | Konan Attian Rose-Manuelle

END OF THE WORLD
- 2022

The world is deteriorating, and we are the cause.
From climate change to catastrophic pandemics, human beings live by destroying what has been created by our inventions and our thinking.
Change must come from us, solutions must come from us.

Team
Model : Jean Patrick Régis | Josué Zahui