Romuald Hazoumè

Romuald Hazoumè (born 1962, Porto Novo, Republic of Dahomey) is a Yoruba artist and sculptor, from the Republic of Bénin.https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Romuald_Hazoum%C3%A8&action=edit Quotes I send back to the West that which belongs to them, that is to say, the refuse of consumer society that invades us everyday.https://newafricanmagazine.com/politics/hazoumes-world/?hl=en-US#:~:text=%E2%80%9CI%20send%20back%20to%20the%20West%20that,makes%20us%20unaware%20of%20our%20own%20culture.%E2%80%9D I don't recycle – I hate that word! I use found objects.https://post.moma.org/from-mask-to-mask-cans-reflections-on-heritage-and-modernity-in-romuald-hazoumes-work/?hl=en-US#:~:text=From%20Mask%20to%20Mask%2DCans%3A%20Reflections%20on%20Heritage,masks%20as%20part%20of%20a%20Kal%C3%A9ta%20group. The past must not be forgotten, but the present reminds us of the past, so we must take responsibility for it.https://dakartnews.com/2025/09/04/we-are-all-bidons-romuald-hazoumes-jerrycan-masks-mock-a-wasteful-world/?hl=en-US#:~:text=It's%20not%20just%20a%20voluntary%20choice%3B%20it's,work%20every%20day.%20I%20hardly%20ever%20paint. I didn't become an artist; I am an artist. I didn't learn it at school; it's in me." We in Africa are losing our culture and if we don't regain it, we're dead. We think European culture is better than ours, but our culture is so rich." Art is essentially like a potato: it grows everywhere in the world, but it has different tastes." The jerry can is a metaphor for an individual left on the ground... their story can be read through the traces left on the plastic container." Thinking about money leads to ruin. Thinking about the work is the path to success." For me, art is above all about giving people emotion." I use the power of laughter, as to laugh allows resilience.https://dakartnews.com/2025/09/04/we-are-all-bidons-romuald-hazoumes-jerrycan-masks-mock-a-wasteful-world/?hl=en-US References