"If we could talk, if we could talk about a dream, that of cocoyam leaves and colors in the room. A dream of tranquility, pleasure, and safety. A positive relationship filled with warmth, unity, and love, a dream so long sought by my people." - Sesse Elangwe Ngeseli
Originally from the South West region of Cameroon, Sesse Elangwe was born on February 25, 1994 in Ngaoundéré in the Adamaoua region to Cameroonian parents. He is the fourth child in a family of seven children. Passionate about drawing since elementary school, this penchant was confirmed when in 2006, he entered secondary school and joined "Le Crayon de D'jino", a six-year program sponsored by the Breweries of Cameroon. He then went to the University of Buea where he obtained a BSC in Political Science. After six years in the program sponsored by the Breweries of Cameroon, he was hired to teach, then thought for a year before deciding to embark on an artistic career. He organized his first exhibition in 2013 in Buea, in the Southwest region of Cameroon, entitled WHAT ABOUT US. Since then, he has participated in over twenty exhibitions around the world. Notably, "The Last Picture Show" in Paris in 2018; "Concordant Transports" in Texas, in 2021. He is also the winner of several awards including the 1st prize in the Patrimonito storyboard competition of UNESCO in 2012. He was similarly awarded 2nd prize at the Mur Mur festival in Burkina Faso in 2018.
By combining African heritage with art movements such as cubism, surrealism and pop art, Elangwe's works are enriched. He confidently perpetuates his aesthetic to critically document some of the conditions experienced by the black community in Africa. His compositions breathe in the art movements that Elangwe admires, as he plays with notions of light and the blurred lines of reality. He places his characters in captivating settings full of depth to create his scenes. These scenes accentuate the magnificence of the skin and face of his subjects. The positioning of their larger-than-life eyes is the focal point that arouses curiosity and immediately captivates the viewer. Their magnified eyes lead to an existential place between the here and now without moving, immersion at its best. The eyes symbolize an awakening that encourages viewers to ask themselves tough questions - a recurring trait in his current work.
