09/05 – 22/11/2026
Venice
Giardini Arsenale
At Venice International Art Biennale 2026, Fondatione Dona Dalle Rose exhibits « Lucioles », a joint exhibition with Atelier Seiran and artist Serge Mouangue .
This collaboration explores shared expressions of life and vitality across cultures, bringing Cameroonian symbolic traditions into dialogue with the cyclical and Japanese nature-based philosophy embodied in Awa Ai.
12/07 – 22/11/2026
Palazzo Ca’ Tron, Venice
Fondazione Berengo Art Space, Murano
Forest 森
A sacred abode for spirits that has been a vital sanctuary for Pygmy tribes since the Paleolithic era. In many respects, the forest serves as their playground, pharmacy, and temple—a multifaceted source of life. Their bond with this lush environment is both profound and intricate, reflecting an understanding that transcends time.
Depicted here are four thrones of power in white, symbolically mirroring the pure oxygen of the forest and the sacred color of gods in Japan main Shinto ritual. These thrones stand as a testament for the cultural dialogue I am profoundly attached to.
Art & design fair
Paris – 24-26 october 2025
Paris hosts hundreds of art events each year, and it can be tough for participants to stand out on a crowded cultural calendar, or even to survive amid the competition. But one of the most interesting art and design fairs is celebrating its 10th anniversary this autumn, presenting a remarkable range of works by artists from Africa and the African diaspora.
AKAA – Also Known As Africa – brings together some 44 galleries and more than 80 artists, exhibiting Oct. 24-to-26, “under the glass roof” of the Carreau du Temple, a striking 19th-century building that once served as a covered market, in the (now trendy) 3rd arrondissement of the French capital.
Here, a dramatic series of sculptures by Cameroon-born Serge Mouangue demands an extended pause for observation and awe. At first glance, the work seems to be of Japanese origin because the artist “merges the formal elegance of the Japanese kimono with African textiles and visual rhythms”, as the curators put it.
In the first part of the installation (which overall is titled “The Third Aesthetic”), a meandering row of female figures appears to be heading out on a journey, dressed in
traditional “kimonos”, their hair in buns with kanzashi, or “hair chopsticks”, as decoration. But even as their “faces” appear Japanese, one can see on closer inspection that these are African masks, and the clothing is made from African textiles that recall Japanese indigo dyeing.
“This is called Seven Sisters, and it’s a procession of fourteen women walking towards Mount Fuji,” explained Mouangue, who lived in Japan for five years and maintains close links with the country. He told SWAN during the exhibition preview that he acquired the masks from Gabon, used original kanzashi from Japan, and chose fabric for the intercultural resemblance – deliberately creating a fusion of elements with the structures.
“I want people to question what they’re seeing,” Mouangue said. “I want them to think about cultural reflections and links because living and working in Japan brought me closer to Africa.”
He added that as an artist, he wanted to “delve deeply” into topics such as identity
and spirituality, and for this, he works with craftsmen and women who “embody excellence” and who “respect traditions”.
He has collaborated with a group called Nawawaseya, for instance, to provide “sacred rope” (used at shrines) for a second sculpture in the installation. In this, kendo masks are decorated with African beads from the west Cameroon region where Mouangue grew up, again combining African and Asian aesthetics.
A third section of the installation features fertility figures, constructed from a transparent resin in varying shades of scarlet, with Japanese Noh masks as the foetuses. The statues are mounted on a stand containing water that reflects their colour.
“This is about fertility and giving birth,” Mouangue told SWAN. “It took me seven years all together to make this because there is lots of complexity in the material, which is a specific resin, and in the shaping for the mould.”
In addition to Mouangue’s spectacular sculptures (represented by “space Un” gallery of Tokyo), the fair offers a wide array of memorable works through the participation of European galleries as well as those based across the Atlantic.
Alecia McKenzie
Dakar, 2024
In an immersive journey, carried by an intimate, powerful and serious scenography, visitors will discover the works of 58 artists from Africa and the diaspora. The artistic
selection of this edition illustrates the extraordinary African creativity with a variety of mediums, techniques and artistic worlds. From illustration art to virtual reality, from sound design to sculpture and photography, the selection process was guided by a commitment to inclusion, in search of a balance that transcends the boundaries of matter, expression and thought.
Serge Mouangue introduces Hanekaze. Present in Shinto and West Africa tribal belief, natural feather material has been the base of a large sculpture in motion that Serge created in collaboration with Toyota design center. Hanekaze, made of multiple white feathers only, illustrates a metaphoric imaginary beast vehicle flying.
Wednesday, May 8 to Saturday, June 8, 2024
About this Exhibition
This first solo exhibition in Japan by Serge Mouangue, Paris-based contemporary artist from Cameroon, presents exciting new visions of cultural affinities between Japan and Africa, a bold collection of sculptural and wearable expressions that transcend tradition toward a « Third Aesthetic. » Artworks include traditional African masks re-imagined in Japanese lacquer, kimonos crafted in African fabrics, and major figurative installations — as well as a number of pieces especially made for this exhibition.
In sum, this exhibition highlighting the inner affinity of Japanese and African cultures aims to give expression to the Marubeni Gallery concept of « a space where beauty old and new, East and West resonate. »
I hope this exhibition may encourage you to take a greater interest in African culture — and of course, I hope you simply enjoy the exhibition.
Kimono
Starting from 2008, kimonos were among the first works Serge created in a consciously Third Aesthetic mode. The combination of African textiles with contemporary Japanese styling looks as beautifully natural as it is practical.
Urushi Sculpture
The art of Japanese lacquer meets the power of African masks. The African wood carved masks were transformed into smooth forms through layers of lacquer with help of lacquer masters Okawara Masaru, Onishi Nagatoshi, Matsushima Sakurako.
Sculpture installation
His creative efforts evolve constantly, working simultaneously in art, design, sculpture and architecture. He then developed them into installation works.
Sketches
These sketches and designs of urushi sculptures and kimonos are a valuable source of Serge’s ideas.
Re-Fashioning Pedagogies
This book is about a new ways of teaching fashion and design history. For a long time, instructors have been teaching very western-focused content, and using very western methodologies to teach these concepts. Over the past few years, a group of costume designers, based in universities across the US, have decided to change how, and what they teach, to include more global perspectives, more traditional methodologies, and quite frankly to decolonize the traditional Western syllabus.
This book is meant to encourage big changes to what they teach.
Kazu Huggler ist in Zürich und Tokio aufgewachsen. Sie schneidert aus alten Kimonos moderne Couture-Kleider und will mit ihren schlichten, bestechenden Designs die beiden Kulturen vereinen. Serge Mouangue (Paris) stammt aus Kamerun. Auch er ist der Faszination des Kimonos erlegen: In seinen verspielten Kreationen, die die Laufstege der ganzen Welt begeistern, trifft der zeitlose Kimono auf die vibrierenden Farben und klaren Linien, auf die rhythmische Dichte und die bunten Schwingungen der afrikanischen Batiktradition.
Im Gespräch mit Khanh Trinh, Kuratorin für japanische Kunst im Museum Rietberg erörtern die beiden Künstler:innen ihren Zugang zum traditionellen japanischen Kleidungsstück, ihren Umgang mit dem Kimono als Bestandteil der zeitgenössischen internationalen Modeindustrie und dessen Stellenwert in der heutigen Gesellschaft.
View the July 2023 issue of Collect displaying Serge Mouangue’s work on its cover. The bi-annual magazine features a curated mix of culture, art and lifestyle, together with the latest news from Dorchester Collection hotels.
Collect Dorchester Collection Magazine, issue n°29, july 2023
The work of artist and designer Serge Mouangue commands a second look. And
a third. What drives Mouangue’s practice is what he calls the “third aesthetic”. It
combines aesthetic elements from two different cultures; the goal is to dismantle
a fixed sense of belonging in the viewer. Our culture, he believes, is not necessarily
our identity. In a similar way, we can feel “at home” in a place where we
were not born and raised. The project Wafrica, for example, uses typical African
textiles to craft traditional Japanese kimonos, each a unique piece. Another work,
entitled Blood Brothers, takes hand-carved wooden pygmy sculptures and treats
them with a traditional Japanese lacquer. Mouangue worked for two years with
Masaru Okawara, a ninth-generation master serving the Emperor of Japan for
over 40 years. After coats of lacquer, the surface is then polished with Japanese
deer horn powder by the palm of the hand, in a captivating mix of original
African symbolic art and profound Japanese tradition. Throughout each of his
creative processes, materials are his master. He is beholden to their rhythm and
native particularities. With family origins in Cameroon, Africa, Serge Mouangue
was raised in a Parisian banlieue where the population was largely first-generation
immigrants. Whilst his parents had other studies in view for him, he went on
to study art in Paris and Europe, before living abroad in Australia and Japan for
many years. “Vive la différence” is a French phrase meaning “long live difference”,
often used to celebrate diversity. Serge Mouangue gets to the heart of this; in
juxtaposing differences he gives their unity an entirely independent existence. His
work goes into the unexpected. So we take another look at it, and at ourselves.
wafrica.art
Photo credits, clockwise from top left: Véronique Huyghe – Mario Simon, Silvija Drazdziulyte, Yuji Zendu, Véronique Huyghe
Dans l’exposition « Kimono » au musée du Quai Branly Jacques Chirac, Anna Jackson présente deux modèles de kimonos de la collection « Wafrica », concept de l’artiste camerounais Serge Mouangue. Wa, le mot le plus ancien du Japon, qui signifie « harmonie, paix », se poursuit en Africa dans le nom de ce projet artistique, une des multiples réalisations de ce designer et plasticien, basé Paris et naviguant continuellment entre France, Japon et Afrique de l’Ouest. Pour Serge Mouangue, dont l’un des principaux axes de recherche est l’identité culturelle, le kimono représente un héritage planétaire et un extraordinaire espace de liberté. « Wafrica » interprète les formes traditionnelles de ce vêtement dans sa forme féminine, réalisé par des couturiers
Apparu il y a plus de mille ans, le kimono – littéralement « ce qui se porte » – incarne aux yeux des Japonais la culture et la sensibilité nationales. C’est au début de l’ère Edo (1603-1868) qu’il devient l’habit traditionnel par excellence, porté par l’ensemble des Japonais, indépendamment de leur statut social ou de leur genre. Un âge d’or qui voit l’extraordinaire développement de sa production et la naissance d’une culture de la mode grâce à l’engouement du monde du spectacle. Célébrités et élégants de l’époque – acteurs de kabuki en tête – devenant alors les premières icônes de mode japonaises.
S’il atteint timidement les côtes européennes à la fin du 17e siècle, c’est dans les années 1850, avec l’ouverture du Japon au commerce extérieur, que le kimono s’exporte vers un Occident alors fasciné par son caractère exotique. L’enthousiasme soulevé par sa forme ou ses tissus transforme profondément et radicalement la mode du continent quelques décennies plus tard. Dépassant par la suite son statut de symbole, désavouant son caractère traditionnel et intemporel, il ne perdra rien de sa superbe entre les ciseaux des plus grands stylistes du monde entier (comme chez John Galliano ou Alexander McQueen) ou dans les rues de l’archipel, revisité de façon innovante et parfois subversive par de jeunes Japonais.
L’exposition conçue par le Victoria and Albert Museum de Londres revient sur cette histoire, celle d’une tenue emblématique, intimement liée à celle du Japon. Le kimono sous toutes ses coutures, ou le portrait d’un vêtement résolument moderne, à travers les siècles et les continents.
Découvrez l’histoire de ces étoffes non genrées revisitées de façon innovante et subversive par de jeunes créateurs.rices à travers les collections du Victoria and Albert Museum et les interviews inédites d’Anna Jackson, commissaire de l’exposition, et de Serge Mouangue, artiste et créateur de mode.