I discovered the work of Leslie Lumeh during the Lumières d’Afriques Exhibition which took place from April 27 to June 6 of 2016 at the Donwahi Foundation in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire). Born in 1970 in Dambala (Liberia), Leslie Lumeh is an autodidact artist well knowned for his figurative works. He already exposed in Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, USA, Gabon and South Africa.
For No Border, Leslie Lumeh invited us to rediscover the way of life of the Africans. Indeed, he said:
“I hope to translate the spirit and way of life of Africans through their work, their way of life, the way of life of Africans, the things they aspire to do, the things that they do. I lived in Cote d’Ivoire, several years, precisely during 8 years, and I have memories of Côte d’Ivoire which are similar to Liberia in such points as well as the vegetation, landscapes, architecture and the inhabitants… Sometimes the messages are different and the way of life is similar … So I take my inspiration from Africans, their way of life, their way of driving their life and their way of understanding life. ”
He is also reminded us his joy, as a child of the country, to be presented at the LouiSimone Guirandou Gallery.
“It is an honor for me to have been invited to this exhibition and especially by Mrs. Guirandou. I did not imagine being able to exhibit one day in this gallery… it is an honor and I am happy to take part in the Exhibition No Border because I am Liberian and my colleague Mene is Ivorian. It is therefore an honor to exchange and create a common art work that reflects our differences and similarities and shows that ” There are no borders to our artistic expressions. ”
Finally, it is recalled that the Ivorian artistic scene is a scene without frontiers, a “No Border” scene in the following terms:
“I think of the artistic scene in Côte d’Ivoire is very good, very developed and open to different types of art from all walks of life, even if there are things to improve.“
It is therefore understandable through this exchange with Leslie Lumeh that the question of the identity of peoples, here of the themes, a necessary for the understanding of the problem of the circulation of men in an environment where peoples seem different even though they shared common points.
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