Sesse Elangwe: The Defiant Ones

 

The word defiance in the context of this exhibition symbolizes the culmination of experiences and the coming to a point of self-realization where it becomes necessary for one to identify, then dismantle the barriers that pose as obstacles to personal growth and success. To explore this notion, Elangwe employs figuration initially as a way to document Black life at different stages of human existence, but ultimately as a means to uplift the communities he belongs to in Cameroon and in the United States. 

 

Elangwe’s new body of work draws inspiration from his personal encounters of spaces, histories and cultures. After listening to Nina Simone’s first civil rights song ‘Mississippi Goddam’ (1963), Elangwe felt encouraged to engage with his own history and life before moving to the United States in 2021. Forced to flee his home country due to the ravaging civil crisis affecting the Anglophone regions of Cameroon where he was based, Elangwe’s new paintings reveal various spectrums of Black life, from precarity, to survival and love, all set in Buea, Cameroon. The artist’s subjects are everyday people represented in dignifying and defiant portraits, that contribute to amplifying the representation of Black figures and inserting them in art historical canons.

 

In her book ‘A Black Gaze: Artists Changing How We See’ (2021), Tina Campt defines the black gaze as “a discomforting, aspirational and defiant gaze”. While the simplicity of the scenes may seem insignificant, the direct gaze of the figures featuring the now signature asymmetric eyes of Elangwe encourage the viewers to connect and project themselves in this shared reality. They encourage contemplation and stand as an invitation to self-reflection as a beacon of hope and action. The stark black skin of his protagonists heavily contrasts with the other vibrant colors he uses, contributing in accentuating the perceived gravity of the artist’s subjects. This pigmentation defines the limit of their bodies, a common thread in the work of the artist, but also a frontier across which contextualization matters. The clothes and the environment that accompany the figures embody the shaping materiality among which these bodies evolve.

 

Borrowing the framework of Nietzsche to interpret the message of the artist, one is struck by the balance of both strength and calmness embodied by these figures standing as a contemporary reinterpretation of the Ubermensch, earthly being both compassionate and ruthless. The humble and neutral compositions allow for an objective reading of the situation: empowering and giving a voice to underrepresented, everyday people. Concerned with minority stakes, the artist wonders about combatting societal norms by delving into why structures exist and how to thrive under these limiting conditions.