Boris Nzebo: Le Monstre de Nkolbong

Private view: Thursday 5 September, 6 - 8 pm

Jack Bell Gallery is pleased to present a series of paintings and sculptures by contemporary artist Boris Nzebo. In this body of work he continues to explore subjects drawn from his hometown Douala, Cameroon’s largest city. This will be the artist’s seventh solo exhibition with the gallery.

Nzebo constructs portraits using detailed studies of traditional African hairstyles. These images are layered with informal snapshots of local neighbourhoods, urban architecture and scenes from daily life. Recent works have addressed social inequalities and political instability. The artist's stylized execution owes a lot to painted haircut signs found outside Cameroon's barber shops, as well as the murals and graffiti throughout Douala’s suburbs. He uses a strong colour palette and appropriates the language of advertising. 

The new series of metal sculptures are three dimensional cut-outs that function as expanded paintings. Layers of powder coated aluminum overlap and interact to create dioramas of street life in Douala. The industrial materials reference the feel of billboards and a constantly changing perspective works to immerse the viewer. 

The artist was born in 1979, Port-Gentil, Gabon. Manchester Art Gallery hosted a solo exhibition of his work in 2016. A piece was subsequently acquired for the museum’s permanent collection and exhibited in 2017. Previous group exhibitions include ‘Pangaea’ & ‘Pangaea II’ at the Saatchi Gallery, London.