I was wondering what I could write about regarding my participation, as an artist, in the exhibition held at the Carrousel du Louvre from 18 to 20 October 2019 to which Diva Pavesi and her Academy very kindly invited me to exhibit two of my paintings, alongside several other artists whom I admire.
I mean, what could I write that is related to recruitment, and more broadly to management, which are after all the professional fields in which I work…
This second exhibition, which follows the first journey of my painting “Zombie President-Nawa-o!” to the June 2018 edition of the Pool Art Fair in Guadeloupe where I was invited by Art Design Africa @Julie Abissegue,
Zombie Président – NAWAO (*) / 1m50 x 1m, acrylic, roller, brushes and knives.
Suddenly, I saw the angle through which I could write it !
I remembered an exceptional professor who taught management at HEC Montreal: Omar Aktouf.
He was a man who did not bite his tongue, who was not exactly a mainstream thinker, and who was always very critical of university business programs whose shortcomings he would point out.
To his students, he would say: “Beware of yourselves first, because the system helps to mold you into robots and clones who are cold, condescending, and imbued with a strong superiority complex; clones who are taught to use only their left brain”. You know, that logical, Cartesian, precise and sequential brain that processes only one piece of data at a time… For the left brain, one question equals one answer. That’s how it is, and that’s it! Move along, there’s nothing to discuss.
He would beg us, “for our own sake” to access our right brain outside the sphere of our business studies through art, culture, reading and humanities in order to correct this systemic disability. And also to learn to approach any issue, including managerial, in a non-unequivocal way and by reconnecting to our creativity and to a form of intuition.
No, he is not the reason why I started painting. It happened quite by chance, in 2011, in the middle of a personal tornado that I was going through. Until this second exhibition, at the Carrousel du Louvre, where I will be exhibiting two paintings thanks to providential encounters.
Shango – Orages (*) / 0,80m x 60m, acrylic, roller, brushes and knives.
Mon Madiba pour Madiana (*) / 0,80m x 60m, acrylic, brushes and knives.
Rather quickly though, in 2011, the comments made by my professor of management came to mind. They allowed me to develop my interest in painting and not to let work take over my life.
And it’s true that since then, every stroke of brush, roller or knife that I apply to my canvas is guided by the following imperatives: to open borders, to air my surroundings, to dare, to practice imagining without restraint. So as to better integrate this state of mind into my professional life.
I wish you will all be able to find a hobby that is special to you. Really.
As for you, Mr. Aktouf, thank you very much! I hope you have continued to touch the lives of many generations of students with your approach to what genuine management should be.
(*) NAWAO: A Nigerian slang word (pijin) used as an exclamation in an unfortunate or shameful situation. For a literal translation, the expression must be divided into two separate words – “Na” meaning “It is” or “He/She is” and “WaO” which corresponds to “woe” in English.
(*) This painting depicts my vision of this extraordinary atmospheric phenomenon, whose strength, at certain latitudes, imposes high respect. Shango, a deity of the Yoruba pantheon of lightning and thunder, at work…
(*) A Madiba (Nelson Mandela) inspired by Madiana who always shared with me her endless admiration for this good, simply exceptional, and bright man.
