Jeanne Kampchouang

Born in Cameroon, Jeanne Kamptchouang lived there until he entered the art world. After graduating from school and failing entry to medical school, he settled for a diploma in biochemistry at the University of Yaoundé 1. An unexpected encounter with the artist Paul Awassumé led to an introspection that evoked in him a love for drawing. He then decided to redirect his career towards his other passion: art. Faced with the scepticism of his parents, he decided to leave Cameroon for Benin, where he started to developed his artistic practice, all the while questioning his future. Four years later, he met students from the École Supérieure d’Art de Clermont Métropole (ESACM) and their teachers. The opportunities and advantages offered by an art school interested him. Eager to learn more, he left for France in 2013 to study in ESACM, where he obtained his diploma in 2017.

Since then, he has continued his training, taking part in solo and group exhibitions and artist residencies. In 2018, he was one of three artists selected to take part in ‘Bain d’Huile’ workshops in Clermont-Ferrand.

Jeanne Kamptchouang’s approach is to develop a critical view of society and individuals and to reflect on the place occupied by man within society, through major themes such as freedom, pluralism, determinism, questions linked to history, aesthetics and politics. He also offers his own vision of a dreamlike, spiritual afterlife… His work is a search for existential truth, where thought is transformed into artistic gesture: drawings, paintings, installations, objects, performances, photographs…

Jeanne Kamptchounag’s work is as much about geographical territories in their political and universal dimensions as it is about our privacy, our raison d’être and our social behaviour. The artist constantly merges his own personal experience and the collective history that shapes our individuality, in a spacetime that combines cultural traditions and contemporary art.