Onguene Tassi's canvas bears reflections on African resilience

By Pauline Odhiambo

Vincent van Gogh's escape from the hustle and bustle of Paris to Arles in the south of France is said to have profoundly impacted his work, inspiring some of his more famous paintings such as The Starry Night and Café Terrace at Night.

In 1945, the American abstract-expressionist painter Jackson Pollock's decision to move to East Hampton in New York marked a significant shift in his artistic style. The spaciousness and isolation of his new environment allowed him to develop his signature drip technique.

At 29, Alexis Daniel Onguene Tassi, a rising talent from Cameroon, reflects the sum of the parts the artist in him inculcated growing up in three diverse cities of his native country.

Tassi attended secondary school in the Cameroonian capital of Douala, while his education in fine arts took him to Nkongsamba, a city in the nation's west celebrated for its coffee, banana and palm oil farms.

The unmistakable touch of realism in Tassi's artworks comes from his childhood years in Bafoussam, a fertile region that is considered the nation's breadbasket.

"Bafoussam feeds the country," Tassi tells TRT Afrika. "Nkongsamba was once among the country's top three economically thriving cities but is today a shadow of its former self."

Imagery of empowerment

Many of Tassi's paintings feature people engaged in food vending and various forms of agricultural activity, a motif meant to demonstrate Africans' economic resilience.

Les Trésors de la Haute Vallée (Treasures of the High Valley) highlights the role of certain kinds of food in colonialist strategies.

"Through this painting, I remind the viewer that food is not just about filling the belly, it goes beyond simple economic and social dimensions," the Douala-based artist explains. "In this case, rice is not only seen as a tool for colonial propaganda, but also a local raw material capable of helping to achieve real African economic independence."

The backdrop of this painting appears industrial, with a black male subject posing triumphantly over bags of white rice.

The work is part of a series titled Le Vieux Goût du Briss (Old Taste of Briss), with the colloquial word "briss" often used to denote wealth and success.

Call to entrepreneurship

Another painting in the series is L’éveil au pays du Cacao (Awakening in the Land of Cocoa), an artwork that highlights economic resilience through the lens of cocoa farming.

"I start from the colonial perception of cocoa as a symbol of violence and infantilisation of the black man to depicting it as a raw material through which Africans can build their dreams," Tassi tells TRT Afrika.

"This painting uses surrealistic imagery mirroring the semi-industrialisation of Africa. I was inspired by the story of chocolatier Christian Djoumessi Donfack, which is similar to that of many young African entrepreneurs on the continent who start from nothing and achieve success by innovating and offering alternatives to African (colonial) dependence," he adds.

Donfack is the brain behind a brand of Cameroonian chocolate enriched with moringa and milk.

Country of paradoxes

In his painting Le Boucher (The Butcher), Tassi discusses the emergence of the informal sector in Africa and other aspects of post-independence industrialisation.

"The Butcher is about the paradox of a country rich in raw material for leather but adorning itself with imported items," he says.

Similarly, L’attente au tourne dos (Waiting with your Back Turned) is a painting that deals with the misappropriation of public property and its consequences, especially for women.

"In this painting, the street restaurant is a social microcosm," says Tassi, whose primary medium is acrylic.

"The construction sign above the young woman dressed in red says she will have certain advantages if she agrees to be the 50th wife of this authority, thereby showing the daily duality between dignity and servility".

Constant quest for self

Tassi has been a professional artist for just over four years, during which time he has been featured in multiple international exhibitions and feted on the continent and beyond.

His creative process involves taking photos of scenes where vendors are selling their wares. He also draws inspiration from videos and pictures online.

"The hardest thing was to find my starting point, based on my sensibilities as a human and an artist," Tassi tells TRT Afrika.

"Knowing who we are and what we are most sensitive to may seem obvious, but I admit to being shaken by this quest for myself."

His advice to aspiring artists draws from the timelessness of first principles, much like his work. "Believe in yourself, be humble and patient, and work hard," he says.

➤Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel for more stories.