Dominique Zinkpe

Dominique Zinkpe

Born in Cotonou, Benin in 1969, Dominique Zinkpè is a versatile self-taught artist, producingdrawings, paintings, sculptures and other installations.Beginning at an early age, Zinkpè’sartistic skill was rewarded early on when he won theYoung African Talent Prize at the 1993 Grapholies Art Festival in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Tenyears later, during the Dak’art Biennial of Contemporary Art held in the Senegalese capital,he took away theprestigious UEMOA Prize for his installation "Malgré Tout!".Zinkpè’s work and influence goes beyond borders. His work has been shown all over theworld, in countries as far away from his homeland as Germany, the Netherlands, the UnitedStates and France.Active and politically aware, Zinkpè developed “Boulev’art: Artists in the Street” in 1999, aproject that aims to bring the work of local contemporary artists to wider attention. Since itscreation, six subsequent manifestations of this public rally havetaken place in Benin andFrance.Moreover, in an effort to share his artistic knowledge with others, Zinkpè founded the Ayïzo–Œuvre de l’Esprit association in 1999, which has since opened the "Unik-lieu de créationcontemporaine", an artistic space thathopes to train and promote contemporary artists. It isalso with this goal in mind that Zinkpè assumed his duties as event organizer of the 2010Benin Biennial.Zinkpè works with a wide range of materials, from jute fabric to used cars to hôhô figures,which come from the Cult of Twins in southern Benin as part of a voodoo religionsymbolizing fertility. His portfolio is continually morphing between mediums and subjects,tackling issues such as intimacy, sex, the sacred and the profane while linking ancestralculture with the contradictions found in today’s world.

ZinkpèBiographyBorn in Cotonou, Benin in 1969, Dominique Zinkpè is a versatile self-taught artist, producingdrawings, paintings, sculptures and other installations.Beginning at an early age, Zinkpè’sartistic skill was rewarded early on when he won theYoung African Talent Prize at the 1993 Grapholies Art Festival in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Tenyears later, during the Dak’art Biennial of Contemporary Art held in the Senegalese capital,he took away theprestigious UEMOA Prize for his installation "Malgré Tout!".Zinkpè’s work and influence goes beyond borders. His work has been shown all over theworld, in countries as far away from his homeland as Germany, the Netherlands, the UnitedStates and France.Active and politically aware, Zinkpè developed “Boulev’art: Artists in the Street” in 1999, aproject that aims to bring the work of local contemporary artists to wider attention. Since itscreation, six subsequent manifestations of this public rally havetaken place in Benin andFrance.Moreover, in an effort to share his artistic knowledge with others, Zinkpè founded the Ayïzo–Œuvre de l’Esprit association in 1999, which has since opened the "Unik-lieu de créationcontemporaine", an artistic space thathopes to train and promote contemporary artists. It isalso with this goal in mind that Zinkpè assumed his duties as event organizer of the 2010Benin Biennial.Zinkpè works with a wide range of materials, from jute fabric to used cars to hôhô figures,which come from the Cult of Twins in southern Benin as part of a voodoo religionsymbolizing fertility. His portfolio is continually morphing between mediums and subjects,tackling issues such as intimacy, sex, the sacred and the profane while linking ancestralculture with the contradictions found in today’s world.