Endowed with a singular and powerful creative spirit embodied in a slender figure reminiscent of The Walking Man by Alberto Giacometti, Achille Adonon born in 1987 is a Beninese visual artist who lives and works in Cotonou, Benin. His artistic journey has been shaped through learning relationships with his elders as well as through his own research in books and workshops during art residencies.
Achille Adonon uses shoes recycled objects and discarded materials to convey his vision of the world and the immaterial to viewers. Through his art he sheds light on the darker and more primitive side of human nature. Exploring the depths of various artistic practices ranging from drawing to performance as well as painting and installation, Achille has since 2021 undertaken a photographic research focused on capturing heterogeneous environments fragments of life in decomposition.
What he calls photographic documents are attempts to document societies of disaster. Anchored in philosophical and anthropological reflection this body of work highlights the ambiguous relationship between humans and nature and what nature presents to them as spectacle.
Achille Adonon was awarded the prize for Best Sculptor at the Dakar Biennale in 2022.