The Franco-Cameroonian artist Barthélémy Toguo collaborated with embroiderers from the Mumbai-based Chanakya School of Craft.
On the occasion of the 15th edition of India Art, which took place in Delhi from February 1st to 4th, 2024, the French Institute in India, the Basu Foundation, and Galerie Lelong & Co. Paris New York collaborated to present “Water Matters.” This installation, a product of original collaboration between the Franco-Cameroonian artist Barthélémy Toguo and the artisans of the Chanakya School of Craft, a Mumbai-based embroidery school directed by Karishma Swali, was showcased in the institutional area at the heart of the fair.
“Water Matters” facilitated a unique dialogue between contemporary artistic practice and the rich heritage of Indian ancestral craftsmanship. A 5-meter-long embroidery depicting a man giving and receiving water was prominently displayed alongside a table adorned with a hundred engraved bottles filled with water sourced from various locations around the globe. Surrounding this central display were two additional embroideries featuring different animals, inspired by the artist’s imaginative bestiary.
“Water Matters” facilitated a unique dialogue between contemporary artistic practice and the rich heritage of Indian ancestral craftsmanship. A 5-meter-long embroidery depicting a man giving and receiving water was prominently displayed alongside a table adorned with a hundred engraved bottles filled with water sourced from various locations around the globe. Surrounding this central display were two additional embroideries featuring different animals, inspired by the artist’s imaginative bestiary.
Barthélémy Toguo about his creative journey:
“Water is a priceless and vital element: I feel very concerned about this resource, which should be a right for everyone, but which is cruelly lacking and endangering the living world, both human and animal. It all started with a childhood memory. I remembered getting up very early in the morning to fetch water from far away, to drink, to wash the plates at home, in Cameroon, before going to school. It was these ordeals that made me realise the importance of water in our lives. Realising the current problem of the lack of drinking water in many parts of Africa and the rest of the world, I decided to focus my project with the Chanakya Craft School in Mumbai on this issue. (…) I love the shape of fish and I wanted to see them in embroidery. My work is full of different animals that inspire me. I’d also like to see crocodiles and peacocks. Everything in the exhibition space at the fair will be blue. With the sea in mind, I’ll be drawing blue lines on the walls with pastels. I marvel at the fluidity of water, which for me represents a gentle, non-violent world”.
This collaboration emerged within the framework of the Villa Swagatam residency programme, fostering interactions between French artists and Indian artisans while supporting long-term intercultural initiatives. Apart from the “carte blanche” presentation at the India Art Fair, Barthélémy Toguo embarked on a journey across multiple cities, including Mumbai, Kolkata, and Jaipur, to immerse himself in India’s diverse cultural landscape. During his travels, he explored the country’s numerous craft communities and cherished traditional practices.
This collaboration emerged within the framework of the Villa Swagatam residency programme, fostering interactions between French artists and Indian artisans while supporting long-term intercultural initiatives. Apart from the “carte blanche” presentation at the India Art Fair, Barthélémy Toguo embarked on a journey across multiple cities, including Mumbai, Kolkata, and Jaipur, to immerse himself in India’s diverse cultural landscape. During his travels, he explored the country’s numerous craft communities and cherished traditional practices.
Biography
Barthélémy Toguo was born in Mbalmayo, Cameroon, in 1967. Between 1989 and 1993, he studied at the École des Beaux-arts in Abidjan (Ivory Coast), then in Grenoble (France), and finally at the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf (Germany). Although he has lived in Europe and become a French citizen, Barthélémy Toguo remains deeply attached to Cameroon, to which he returns regularly. It was here that he set up Bandjoun Station, a foundation inaugurated in 2013 whose aim is to host artists and academics from around the world in residential studios, in order to develop proposals in harmony with the local population. In 2016, Barthélémy Toguo was one of the four artists nominated for the Marcel Duchamp Prize, when he presented the installation Overcome the Virus! at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. In 2021, he was the first living African artist to be invited to a solo exhibition, Désir d’Humanité, at the Musée Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac. In 2022, he presented a 10-metre-long ink on canvas entitled The Generous Water Giant at the Sydney Biennale. The same year, Barthélémy Toguo was invited to create a large-scale installation under the Louvre pyramid, Le Pilier des migrants disparus (The Pillar of Missing Migrants). Barthélémy Toguo’s works are held in numerous collections, including those of the Musée national d’Art moderne – Centre Pompidou (Paris), MoMA – Museum of Modern Art (New York), the Museum of Contemporary Art (Miami), the Parrish Art Museum (Water Mill, USA), and the Fondation Louis Vuitton (Paris).