Winner of the ellipse Prize 2022
Assoukrou Aké
Assoukrou René Poupoint is multidisciplinary artist born in 1995 in Bonoua, Ivory Coast.
Assoukrou Aké winner of the ellipse Prize dedicated to Ivory Coast
After studying art in Abidjan, he continued his studies in art history and archaeology in France. Then he reoriented himself in art school in Tours where he graduated in 2021 with honors.
By placing himself in the shoes of a research doctor, Assoukrou Aké elaborates narratives that he calls “healings” through his multidisciplinary artistic practice of collage, painting, engraving and sculpture. His research feeds an art of translation for which he tries to transcend an equivocal visual aspect of violence and its capacity for mutation.
Notching the wood to ease the pain
In order to represent this non-visual concept, he constructs and deconstructs fragments of images by working with the material which he digs, cuts or tears to empty it of its meaning.
His compositions with sinuous lines echo numerous references ranging from African tales to engravings by masters such as Poussin or Rubens, including Gustave Doré. Between symbolism and spirituality, his work invites us to question the meaning of existence through dark, heavy atmospheres that hint at serenity and hope.
