Pascale Marthine Tayou, Africonda – series, 2014. Photo: Lorenzo Fiaschi; Courtesy: GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano / Beijing / Les Moulins

Pascale Marthine Tayou: BOOMERANG at Serpentine Galleries

Serpentine Galleries presents the first solo show in London by Cameroon-born, Belgium-based artist Pascale Marthine Tayou. The exhibition will include new work made specifically for the Serpentine and introduces audiences to a range of works that demonstrate the artist’s unique ability to combine issues of individual and national identity and global consumption.

Pascale Marthine Tayou, Octopus, 2010. Photo: Ela Bialkowska, OKNO STUDIO; Courtesy: GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano / Beijing / Les Moulins

The exhibition, his first in the UK since 2008, will see the Serpentine Sackler Gallery populated by a diverse mix of sculptural forms that demonstrate Tayou’s unique visual language based on archetypes, made and found objects and traditional craft. Mysterious human forms and fantastical beasts – such as the 100 metre snake of Africonda – incorporate materials such as cloth, wood, plastic, glass, organic matter and consumer waste combined with an artisanal skill.

Pascale Marthine Tayou, Things Fall Apart, 2014. Photo: Lorenzo Fiaschi; Courtesy: GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano / Beijing / Les Moulins

Tayou, who began studying law before deciding instead to become an artist, began exhibiting in the early 1990s – a time of political and social upheaval across West Africa. With works often produced in situ, Tayou is renowned for combining found and discarded objects and materials  – often sourced locally – with a skilled and playful sense of craftsmanship.

Pascale Marthine Tayou, Graffiti neon C, 2014. Photo: Aurélie Tiffreau; Courtesy: GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano / Beijing / Les Moulins

Tayou has exhibited internationally, including solo exhibitions at the Fowler Museum at UCLA (2014); Kunsthaus Bregenz (2014); MACRO, Rome (2012); MUDAM Luxembourg (2011); Mac Lyon (2011); Malmö Konsthall (2010). This exhibition at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery is part of the Serpentine’s Spring Programme, which includes a major survey by American artist Leon Golub that runs concurrently at the Serpentine Gallery.

more. www.serpentinegalleries.org