Contemporary Beninese culture once again takes center stage at the fifth edition of the Wa Benin Festival. To enrich this annual event with a touch of exclusivity and offer a unique experience, a group exhibition has been organized at Jardin 21 in Paris to coincide with the festival. Entitled “Voyage dans le Temps”, this exhibition highlights the artistic vision of four talented Beninese photographers. Curated by Blandine KLEBE, it offers a striking look at timeless memories and collective memory.
Daniel Koladé HOUNSOU, Élise LATIK, Hyacinthe IDH and Yanick FOLLY took the public on a visual journey through Beninese culture at Jardin 21. Each of them, with a unique yet emotive and complementary approach, has contributed a fragment of memory, a frozen recollection, charged with moving emotional power.
The images presented in “Voyage dans le Temps” plunge viewers into a spellbinding artistic experience, where each photograph opens onto an inner journey through time and emotions. Each of the works on display offers a dazzling concentration of characters, temporalities and places. Together, these elements weave deep bonds, evoking a palpable nostalgia and emotional richness that transcends generations.
In a joyful, carefree atmosphere, Élise LATIK transports the public with two photographs that recall traditional Beninese games, such as bountou. A self-taught Beninese photographer living in France, these shots capture unique moments from her childhood, illustrating everyday village life and interactions between neighbors. In this serene, relaxed atmosphere, Élise LATIK invites the audience to discover the essence of these moments of pure happiness, and to forge new memories around this precious cultural heritage.
In the same vein, Hyacinthe IDH, a Beninese photographer living in France, presents a series of photographs evoking moments of group play. Through these representative images, he seeks to transform the way we look at a life marked by poverty, offering a more accurate perspective, in line with his own vision of time, which boils down to the simplicity and carefree spirit of a bygone era.
Yanick FOLLY moves audiences by reviving emotions linked to the return of works of art to Benin. A Beninese photographer and artist, he shares with visitors the snapshots he took to immortalize this historic event. Yanick FOLLY’s lens forever captures the amazement of those rediscovering these treasures of yesteryear, as well as the joy of those celebrating this international recognition.
Daniel Koladé HOUNSOU rounds off this overview of contemporary Beninese culture with works that, in his view, symbolize the very essence of this culture. Navigating between Nigeria and Benin, the artist-photographer pays tribute to the guardians of the night, the Zangbéto. Her shots enhance the image of Vodoun culture, the dances, rhythms and doctrines that together form Benin’s cultural identity. Much more than mere protective figures, these entities represent for the artist the hidden basis of Benin’s history, art and culture, where customs and memories come to life.
This event, held in parallel with the Wa Benin festival, illuminated Jardin 21 in Paris for two days, offering visitors an unforgettable visual journey through the richness of Beninese culture and its artistic practices. Through this exhibition, the Wa Benin festival invites us to relive precious moments, to reconnect with our intimate memories and rediscover the timeless beauty of moments that, despite the passage of years, remain engraved in our souls. Each photograph is like an open door to a magnified past, enriching our present with a gentle melancholy and subtle joy, reminding us that art has the power to transcend time.
