"I aim to reproduce the questioning that I face in a society searching for identity in the midst of profound changes. I wonder: how can we understand that our environment is not as well cared for as our heads?"
Boris Nzebo's journey began in a hair salon in Douala, a vibrant and lively city serving as the economic capital of Cameroon. Initially working as a sign painter, Nzebo later dedicated himself to the field of visual arts.
A self-taught artist, Boris Nzebo honed his skills on the go. He explores traditional African hairstyles within the urban space, amidst the challenges of daily life and the nocturnal atmosphere. Hairstyles become a pretext for questioning identity and social inequalities through graffiti that closely align with advertising codes.
Observing faces marked by hardship, oppression, fatigue, or suffocation in the old city on a daily basis, he portrays a metropolis characterized by numerous degraded architectures and the burden of halted, coherent urbanization. The contours that define his drawings—lines, curves, and intertwining traits—take on an unknown direction, simultaneously personal and universal, accessible to a wide audience. His large-scale works depict the vastness of the city and the grandeur of the world.
Boris Nzebo's art is regularly exhibited in Africa, England, France, Switzerland and the USA. His works are part of various collections such as the National Fund for Contemporary Art in France (FNAC), Saatchi Gallery, Manchester Art Gallery, and the Museum of African Contemporary Art AL Maaden in Morocco.
He is also the recipient of the Jacobs Foundation Prize in Switzerland.