Beya Gille Gacha

Orant #5 depicts a child in the act of breaking the concrete floor of a symbolic space, which is both real and mental, in order to let a plant live and breathe in the soil. Breaking the framework, this blue-beaded child dares to impose his ideas on society, taking power over his own destiny and acting for the future by placing environmental issues at the center of concerns. In the Bamileke tradition from Cameroon, beading furniture or artwork is a way to show material wealth and value, just like covering it in gold or ivory. In a similar way, Beya Gille Gacha covers her sculptures in beads in order to demonstrate the value of each human being.

Beya Gille Gacha (1990, Paris) is an artist of Cameroonian descent who lives and works in Paris. Following a trip to Cameroon and her motherland, the Grassland region, she discovered the Bamileke beadwork and started producing beaded sculptures inspired by this technique, while mixing references to African classicism and Western art. She draws her inspiration from local “passport masks” to create her artworks, sculptures, and installations with blue-beaded skin, while addressing social themes.