Nuits Balnéaires

Literally, Nuits Balnéaires means Seaside Nights. Nuits Balnéaires revealed itself to me in a poem I wrote. It is a long poem that has not yet been published but will be released at the time destined for it. Through this poem, tumultuous landscapes are crossed before finding a sense of peace and harmony, in this vision of Seaside Nights. After rereading it, I realised that this expression crystallised all the emotions that had been moving through me for a long time, this obsession with the power of the landscapes of the Gulf of Guinea region, this intense and active nostalgia, as if these landscapes were crying out a history several millennia old that was simply waiting to be heard and told. Nuits Balnéaires first became an artistic project and then became the artist. The name became a space to explore questions about the absurdity of time, cultural mutations, and the relationship to both physical and imagined geographies where all these dimensions could coexist.

Several influences converge in my practice, both from my fashion background and from a strong research-based dimension. I am also deeply inspired by dreams and the idea of nostalgia. Technically, I constantly combine and alternate between analogue and digital photography. In the context of Eboro in particular, the dream occupies a central place: if it were to be considered a medium in its own right, it would likely be the primary one in this work. The structure of the dream is often fragmented and discontinuous, frequently placing us in spaces and situations whose logic is not immediately clear. There is also a relationship to the aesthetics of the dream, which can oscillate between clearer and more ambiguous states. In the fable of Eboro, the story is situated at this boundary, and the aesthetic language strives to fully serve that narrative.

The gallery space was approached in dialogue with David Campany, creative director of ICP and curator of this exhibition, who also supported me in bringing my project to life. In general, the goal was to remain consistent with my artistic vision and allow the visitor to immerse themselves in the world I am presenting. My approach to the exhibition is focused on creating an experience for each person encountering the work: how to craft an atmosphere that is clearly perceptible and fully conveys the emotion I wish to share.
Beyond creating the work itself, I try to provide a framework for reading it, much like how the editing of a book or a film contributes to establishing a narrative. The placement of the works on the walls served both to amplify the dialogue between photography and cinema, and to create a sense of sequence, while exploring rhythm and overall harmony. The two-channel video installation on a sculptural screen was also inspired by the idea of the book and how the sacred notion of the book informed the creation of Eboro as a whole. By breaking away from the white space, I pursue a minimalism that still conveys a strong message and exudes a certain intensity. This is why I choose to incorporate colours and backgrounds, as well as framing choices that become extensions of the story carried within the photographs. The ICP team for this first exhibition was an immense help in shaping an experience that goes beyond what I had initially imagined and I learned a lot from them.

I have long admired François-Xavier Gbré’s work. He is one of the precursors of our photographic scene, with an extremely prolific career and experience. It is a real honour to have my work in dialogue with his in the context of this exhibition. It has been enriching. Gbré’s relationship to architecture and history is rigorous and deeply political. Being in dialogue with his work sharpened my awareness of space as testimony. I learned from his precision, the way a building can silently hold memory, tension, and power dynamics. Our perspectives truly complement each other and bring a new view on Ivorian and West African photography. Beyond that, it was also the opportunity to spend more time with him and to discover his beautiful personality that left a strong impression on me.

We have Gye Nyame, one of the most important Adinkra symbols, visual symbols originating from the Akan people of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire that represent philosophical concepts, proverbs, and historical events. It represents the ultimate divinity and underscores this obsession with the essence of all life. It appears on the eggs in this chapter, which I titled Adama and Awa, exploring the idea of genesis and placing ancestral African traditions in dialogue with certain Judeo-Christian religious codes.
Here, the eggs speak of origin and potential. They represent that primordial state before the emergence of gender and the definition of identity. The graphic mark acts almost like a seal or a scar. Its specificity perhaps already indicates how historical, cultural, and spiritual contexts shape and mark a life trajectory. The serpent creates tension and sets religious interpretations in opposition. Within the framework of Genesis, it can be perceived as the being that brings the curse, while in several African traditions it stands as a divinity or a symbol of protection. The chameleon symbolises adaptability and multiplicity, while the baobab emphasises permanence, longevity, resilience, and ancestral wisdom.
I draw strong inspiration from the structure of the tarot and its ability, through an assemblage of iconographic elements, to evoke destinies. The ocean and the Gulf of Guinea remain very present, particularly at the site of the Mamelles Lighthouse, the place where the life of Noël X. Ebony came to an end. It becomes a scene I investigate in order to retrace the space of his final presence, and from which I bring forth this fable that, in a way, extends his life.

The still image carries a power that does not rely on action but on suggestion and the projections of the viewer. Its silence and stillness captivate me, freezing a moment while opening a window onto multiple possible realities. What lingers in a photograph is the emotion, the atmosphere, the intangible resonance. This is what I strive to capture in my approach to storytelling. Video and cinema extend this same pursuit. Moving images, paired with carefully composed sound, magnify emotions that often elude conventional language, allowing the work to speak in its own terms, with its own logic and rhythm.

It is a two-channel video installation that extends the photographic universe into movement and sound. Beyond all the states it evokes, the film offers a powerful moment in which a poem by Noël X. Ebony is recited, speaking of identity and multiplicity. Its form is less narrative and more atmospheric, remaining aligned with the contemplative stillness of the photographs. We imagined this sculptural form to create a dialogue with the shape of the book, a medium, like film, that calls for presence, slowing down, immersing oneself, and feeling.

Noël X. Ebony is definitely one of them, but I am also deeply captivated by Byzantine art, the Pala d’Oro is an absolutely sublime work. I think of Georgia O’Keeffe, Constantin Brâncuși, Donald Judd, Wael Shawky, the portrait work of Samuel Fosso and the Ivorian Paul Kodjo, Jodorowsky, and a great deal of music, from Meiway to Keith Jarrett, from Zambian garage rock to Ghanaian highlife, through Sudanese and Sahelian music, as well as Brazilian music. My family, my friends, and the people I work with every day also inspire me greatly.

I approach working with models collaboratively, always through dialogue. I often work with people from my circle of friends or family, including my sister Fatima Kouamé, who is truly my muse. Building trust is my first priority, because the projects I undertake often require openness and vulnerability, sometimes in entirely new contexts for both myself and the team. For me, the most rewarding shoots are those where models can fully embody a character.
I met Mody Lakhamy, the actor who played the lead in Eboro, in Dakar at a time when I was still hesitating to use my own body for this story. He immediately understood the narrative I wanted to convey, having himself experienced uprooting in a profound way. His talent reminded me how crucial it is that a model is not simply posing, but inhabiting a role and helping to tell a story.

Nuits Balnéaires is my dream project. I hope to continue expanding my artistic universe to its fullest, through collaborations around the image, like the one with the Hermès Foundation, but also through other forms. I aim to develop collections of objects that celebrate multiculturalism and the intergenerational transmission of knowledge and craft, to create more films and large-scale series that continue to explore the memory of the Gulf of Guinea, and to keep building bridges between cultural geographies around the world.