Artist: Barthélémy Toguo

In this new exhibition, Barthélémy Toguo presents a sensitive cartography of the contemporary world through the narrative of a constant journey – one that is simultaneously geographical, cultural and spiritual. The artist’s travels have profoundly transformed his practice. He draws upon this as a method of understanding and creation: each territory he visits becomes a place of exchange and collaboration, in which local skills, mythologies and collective memories inform his reflections on humanity and its relationship with the living world.

Invited to undertake a residency in Japan last April, Toguo discovered a relationship with the world that resonated with his Cameroonian culture. In the Shinto tradition, where nature is inhabited by invisible forces, he observed similarities with the animist beliefs that shaped his childhood. This encounter gave rise to a series of drawings on washi paper, in which deities appear as the guardians of a fragile balance between humankind and its environment.

In Morocco, he engaged in dialogue with the potters of Salé, whose traditional techniques enriched his exploration of form. In India, his collaboration with the embroidery workshops at the Chanakya School of Craft in Mumbai opened up new artistic possibilities: his designs were transformed into a tapestry of threads, textures and painstaking craftsmanship. In Paris, his collaboration with the artisans at the Manufacture de Sèvres gave rise to a varied range of porcelain pieces featuring marine motifs. Corals, seaweed and aquatic organisms compose a sumptuous yet threatened landscape, recalling the ecological urgency that runs through his work.

The exhibition concludes with a series of bronze portraits created in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Conceived as imposing coins, these figures pay tribute to major protagonists in African history. By subverting the iconography of economic power, Toguo reaffirms the symbolic and political value of those who have shaped the continent.

Through the diversity of media and influences explored in this exhibition, Barthélémy Toguo creates a space in which imaginations intermingle and cultures and traditions come together in harmony. For the artist, travel is a way of inhabiting the world and celebrating its profound unity.

Barthélémy Toguo was born in Mbalmayo in 1967. Despite settling in Europe and becoming a French citizen, he still has deep roots in Cameroon, where he returns very regularly. There, he created Bandjoun Station, a foundation designed to host artists and researchers from around the world in studio-accommodation residencies, enabling them to develop projects in harmony with the local community.

The Nomadic Studio is the tenth exhibition that Galerie Lelong has devoted to Barthélémy Toguo since 2010, following The Lost Dogs’ Orchestra (Paris, 2010), Hidden Faces (Paris, 2013), Strange Fruit (Paris, 2017), Urban Requiem (New York, 2019), Wouri, Donga, Sanaga... (Paris, 2019), If Not Now, When? (Paris, 2020), Partages (Paris, 2021) Water is a Right (Paris, 2023), and Roots (Paris, 2025).