Fred Ebami: the african touch in pop art

Do you know pop art ?

Before talking about Fred Ebami, let me talk about his art.

Pop art is a modern art movement born in the 50s, which emerged in Britain and the United States . Characterized by themes and techniques drawn from popular mass culture, such as advertising, comic books and mundane cultural objects, pop art emphasizes the attitude given to the work rather than the work of art itself. It removes the material from its context and isolates the object, or combines it with other objects, for contemplation.

Pop art is not limited to the visual arts : it affects the music, the fashion, the applied arts and many other fields of culture. Overall, it is lifestyle of a generation, in the practices and attitudes.

When you think of pop art, you think Andy Warhol. It is precisely the latter that inspires our artist.

Fred Ebami is a designer and artist from Cameroon who lives in London. He grew up in Cameroon in the world of COMICS. But it is in pop art that he expresses himself as an artist. He describes himself as a little bit crazy in his head. And when we see his works, we willingly believe him!

Personally, I'm not particularly keen on pop art, because it is a fairly complex and not always easy to understand kind of art. I can eventually be moved when I get to pick up the message from a work but otherwise I often stay bewildered, trying to give a thousand explanations for what seems to be a confusing patchwork of images and colors. It's like everything, you know, tastes and colors are not to discuss ...

Nevertheless I wanted to do a post about this artist because I admire the hard work behind each piece of art. I had the opportunity to talk with him a bit, and I quickly grabbed the driving passion. The pop artist expresses himself on society, his feelings, his way of seeing the world and he wants to bring people into his world. He wants to open our eyes to a different way of seeing things through the use of topical subjects, objects and everyday images. Through his works, he affirmed his commitment to peace, love and freedom.

In many of his works, he brought a certain cameroonian touch which has not escaped me. He is strongly inspired by his African roots and besides he says so himself: "My roots are in Cameroon, my trunk in France and my leaves are in England." I thought it was beautifully said, that image of the tree growing beyond the continents that characterizes so many members of the Cameroonian Diaspora.

Fred Ebami has exhibited in several continents : America (Kesington 2011), Africa (Dakar and South Africa in 2012), and of course Europe (France, England). I invite you to discover his art, his works. Some of them leave speechless: http://www.fred-ebami.com/en/

Who said Bassa'a don't have the artistic fiber?