Serge Mouangue used masks originally from the Eket tribe in Nigeria and the Makondé tribe in Tanzania underwent a metamorphosis by the hands of Japanese lacquer artist Nagatoshi Onishi, 86-year-old Professor Emeritus of the Tokyo University of the Arts. These sacred masks, used during rituals to celebrate fertility and the creation of life, were coated in the majestic black of Japanese lacquer and given intricate layers of mother-of-pearl and gold leaf, transforming them into breathtaking symbols of the birth of the universe, stars and life.

© Photo: Véronique Huyghes et Mario Simon