Nico Andreas Heller in Conversation with Yvon Ngassam.

Yvon Ngassam, based in Douala, Cameroon, combines traditional and contemporary media to explore urban transformation and to confront the enduring legacies of slavery, colonial history, displacement and migration. Employing a wide range of techniques, from photography, video and sound, to conceptual, live and digital art, he examines these themes from the perspective of resilience and through the prism of dreams, envisioning alternative narratives of empowerment.

Central to his work is his profound engagement with Cameroon's socio-political landscape and the wider African context. By combining traditional methods like etching and embroidery with technologies such as NFTs, Yvon challenges conventional notions of medium-specificity and critically examines cultural heritage, identity and power dynamics in post-colonial societies.

In this podcast, we explore his notion of the artist as a custodian of collective memory, talk about who the ‘humans’ are in his #ArtForTheHumans, and discuss why resilience is such a central concern for him.

His recent solo exhibitions include: ‘Crypto Genèse: Opus 1’, Institut français du Cameroun – Yaoundé (2024); ‘Seeds and Souls’, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen (2023-24); ‘Portrait of a Community – Features of a Land’, Municipal Foyer, Lolodorf (2022); ‘Traces’, Doual’Art, Douala (2021).

He has participated in international group exhibitions and biennales including: ‘The Nudity of the Soul’, Kunsthal Aarhus (2021); ‘Streams of Consciousness’, 12th Bamako Encounters – African Biennale of Photography, Bamako (2019); ‘L’Heure Rouge’, 13th Dak’Art – Biennale of Contemporary African Art, Dakar (2018); ‘Rip It Up’, 2nd Changjiang International Photography and Video Biennale, Changjiang Museum of Contemporary Art, Changjiang (2017).

For more information about Yvon Ngassam, visit his website.