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The artist also deliberately avoids those elements and facets expected of "African" artists – in some cases even presenting these expectations in a satirical light. Adéagbo's works key into the process of coming to terms with the colonial era, explore the imperialistic claims of Western powers in mainland Africa, and pose questions about traces of colonialism still visible in European cities. From his perspective as an African ethnologist, Adéagbo studies the customs of each place at which he exhibits, and casts these as glaring clichés– a parallel to the way his own culture is often misrepresented.
Georges Adéagbo creates installations every day. Some are more elaborate than others, but each is a personal reflection, a musing upon the issues and encounters he faced that day. Trained in law and business administration, he began creating such installations of varying scale and complexity after he returned to Cotonou, benin, following his father’s death in 1971. Pressured by his family to stay, he coped with his return by taking solitary walks, encountering objects—both discarded and lost—that appealed to him, and arranging them on the grounds of his compound. For 23 years, he wrote his thoughts and combined these notes with mementos, clippings, and the artifacts of everyday life in daily assemblages. A chance encounter with French curator Jean-Michel Rousset in 1993 led to his participation in the exhibition La Route de l’art sur la Route des esclaves in besançon, France. Five years later, Adéagbo’s the Story of the Lion—a one-day installation examining Africa’s intellectual and material contributions to European, and particularly venetian, history—was awarded an Honorable Mention at the 1999 venice biennale. He had been invited to create this installation by independent curator Stephan Köhler, who has since remained Adéagbo’s close collaborator and advocate.
Georges Adéagbo lives and works in Cotonou and Hamburg.
In Collection:
Northwestern University
The Story of the LionUniversity of Delaware Library
The Story of the Lion