Notes

The visual appeal of the Affogbolos recalls Italian Renaissance portraiture, mixed and contrasted with cultural references that Gam utilises to bring our awareness to the cultural dynamics of the contemporary African young elite; “The Affogbolos are emblematic of a new generation of global citizen of African origin, locally rooted in their tradition and culture but with at the same time a distinctive global outlook”¹. The work is a question of power, influence and the African Renaissance.²

^1. https://www.50golborneart.com/past-exhibitions, accessed 26 January 2023.

^2. https://africanah.org/pierre-christophe-gam/, accessed 15 November 2022.

Born in Paris to a Cameroonian father and Chadian mother, Pierre-Christophe Gam trained as an architect at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Decoratifs in Paris and at Central St. Martins School in London. He specialised in art direction for luxury brands including Maison Margiela, Kenzo, and Cartier. Influenced by his multicultural upbringing, in 2013 he founded Afro-Polis. The aim of this cultural, educational, and philanthropic platform is to promote emerging and established artists from Africa, primarily through exhibitions and events in Paris and London. His own artistic production focuses on digitally manipulated photographic collages where he explores the relationship between post-colonial modernist thinking and current economic and social change on the African continent. Gam has exhibited extensively in Europe and Africa, including at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, the Lagos Photo Festival, and the Addis Foto Fest.

Provenance

Acquired from the artist by the current owner in 2016.

Property of a Collector.

Exhibited

50 Golborne, London, African Renaissance, 11 February to 29 March 2015, another example from the edition exhibited.

Literature

Aficanah.org (no date) Arena for Contemporary African, African-American and Caribbean Art: Pierre-Christophe Gam, online, https://africanah.org/pierre-christophe-gam/, accessed 11 August 2024.

Art Africa (2017) 'Pierre-Christophe Gam on the African Renaissance Collector', another example from the edition illustrated in colour on page 62.