Ivorian contemporary artist, Abdoulaye Diarrassouba simply known as Aboudia who brought the 2010 – 2011 Ivorian political crisis into view through his canvases is attracting world attention at the moment. His works are on in the United States of America where he is displaying works on the history of Ivory Coast, what graffitis is to the art world, the importance of mural art and lots more. EDOZIE UDEZE reports.
He was born Abdoulaye Diarrassouba. However, as time went on in his painting career, he decided to be known simply as Aboudia. Aboudia is an Ivorian contemporary artist who rose from practically nothing to be one of the best known African modern painters throughout the world. His life began on a rough note, but he refused those horrible childhood circumstances to weigh or slow him down.
As a child he was rejected by his father. The moment he told his father his intention to become an artist he not only drove him out of the house, he also stopped paying his school fees. So his mother quickly went to withdraw all her life savings to pay for his school fees.
So at 15 he had already become independent, forging ahead without the love or support of his father. After completing his scholarship, Aboudia went straight into arts. While in school, however, he came tops even though most times, at the end of classes, he would sleep in the school, forgetting to go home or pretending there was no home to go to. Yet his love for the art
kept growing.
Born in 1983, in Ivory Coast, he studied Applied Arts in 2003. Although he is based in Brooklyn, New York, the United States of America, he still maintains his studios in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Between 2007 and 2008, he was fond of moving from gallery to gallery in his home settlement of Bingerille showing his art pieces, seeking for attention. But no gallery or gallery owner paid him any heed. Nonetheless, this did not discourage him. Even when they mocked him, sniggering at his uncouth art style, Aboudia kept his cool.
After some time however, his style of paintings began to attract the attention of ambassadors and other foreigners. Gallery owners outside Ivory Coast also began to patronage him. They saw what others could not see, that innate love of an artist
whose works could not be recognized by his home people. Thus, his fame rose steadily within this time.
During the 2010 – 2011 Ivorian political crisis which nearly tore the country to pieces, Aboudia’s art prospered. At that time, Alassance Quattara that won the election closed both land and air borders of Ivory Coast. This helped Aboudia to concentrate to paint over 21 canvases. These works dwelt mainly on the political problems of the time. These works gave a new dimension to his artistic experiments; his style and form.
So, between 2012 and 2014, he exhibited severally in Ivory Coast in different galleries. People saw in those works what people went through; the sounds of the guns. This was so because Aboudia’s private studio was not far from Quattara’s political
headquarters. From there he heard the booming of guns and often had to run into a secluded corner for safety.
With these works, he moved to Europe, America, Asia, and parts of Africa where he became an instant celebrity. Later on, he became influenced by a synthesis of American avant-garde traditions and the art of graffitis in communities within Brooklyn, within his reach.
Even though the 2010 political crisis influenced his work and moved him to the next level, he has refused to be categorized as a war artist and painter. Some of the works were heavily influenced by the scenes he witnessed and others by the footages he saw on the internet on the crisis. So, his body of work is a tribute to the essence of dreams and language, to those who lost their lives, those who defended the peoples mandate for Ivory Coast to remain an entity.
Thus, he played a big role in time of national crisis. He said “as an artist, my contribution is to tell our story for the next generation. Writers will write. Singers will sing. I paint”. Then after the war broke out, the theme of his paintings changed. His primary motive was to create a record of Ivory Coast’s recent history; the political imbroglio inclusive. Now, he has gone back to his original themes; childhood in the streets, poverty and child soldier forms of paintings.
As at now he depicts fevered landscapes and street scenes; scenes over-populated by childlike figures, some forms of graffitis, etc. These styles he renders on oil sticks mainly. He equally finds acrylic and collage friendly in most of his experiments. This way, his works are lined with brutal infusions of colours, applied usually on layered background collages. Often he demonstrates multilayered paintings with stimulant effects and images.
He said, “my style shifted from one that was classic and academic in nature as well as highly influenced by the African culture and beliefs into increasingly influenced by wall scribbles, graffitis and more”.
Thus, he loves mural art; mosaic art, simple drawings on the walls. Some times too, he uses charcoal to work on patterns on cars, television, status symbols, statements and sayings of children. At the moment, he is on song in the United States of America where his art has taken a centre stage in parts of New York.
Aboudia has so far exhibited in some of the most popular art galleries in the world. These include Basel, Miami, Volta, New York, Singapore, Hong Kong. His works are attracting world attention in the meantime and he has shown that creativity cannot be easily knocked off or caged by the circumstances of birth, life or estate in life.
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