In all creation, all destruction, all memory, there remains a residue. That which escapes erasure, that which persists despite oblivion, that which resists time. There is always a remnant, fostering a subtle dialogue between past and present.
This remnant, often considered insignificant or obsolete, becomes here the starting point for an artistic and conceptual reflection. This exhibition looks at what survives action and creation, and what evades disappearance. Far from being waste, the rest becomes a space of possibility, a terrain for exploration and rewriting.
In his archiving project, Cédric Kouamé questions the emotional and narrative value of altered images: a photograph, even a damaged one, always retains a memorial value. They are landmarks, stories left as legacies, while nourishing the imagination. By reactivating them, the artist transforms them from mere archive documents into material for transformation, reflection and reinterpretation.
What are we really giving up ? What value do we place on what remains ?
The body of work proposed by Cédric transcends the simple materiality of the elements that make it up: it questions our relationship with time, with traces and with the reinvention of the past. An in situ sculpture, Gate.1.up, embodies the artist's idea of salvaging and enhancing the objects that surround us. The base of this door was used to transport his works, which have been included in previous exhibitions, giving us a glimpse of the traces of this journey.
Between photographic remains and recycled materials, they reaffirm that art is not only an act of creation, but also a space for transmission and permanent rewriting. There is always something left, invites us to rethink the relationship between presence and absence, and to consider the unfinished as a continuity rather than a rupture.
Astride Yaoba
Gallery manager
