50 GOLBORNE

Polymath designer, artist and cultural entrepreneur Pierre-Christophe Gam explores the notions of nostalgia for the Utopias developed by modernist thinking pre and in the early days of Modernist movements of Post -Colonial Africa. He is interested in evaluating how current changes brought in the continent by the extension of the free market, the banalisation of information technology and the results of a steady economic growth negotiate with this past intellectual and visual heritage.

 

In the Affogbolo series, Gam uses the codes of the Italian Renaissance portraiture and its display of connotative symbolic iconography as well as ideal of beauty to underline the economic and cultural attributes of the contemporary African young elite. Using photography, collages and digital manipulation, he creates ambiguous yet compelling compositions where deep cultural references are mixed -up and juxtaposed in a rich and intricate tapestry.

 

Beyond the visual seduction of the pictures Pierre-Christophe Gam questions the making of power and influence of contemporary elites.