The CIAMO Report: Tokoudagba in Ouidah

I see them every time I go to the beach. They’re austere really, decrepit and sad. They stand two to three meters high and sit on square columns. They speak of a time when Ouidah made major efforts to become a tourist town. Unfortunately they also tell of Ouidah’s general disinterest in protecting its heritage. Many of them have been vandalized, pieces broken or ripped away. A dark forest green paint still rests in the cracks, but little by little, even that paint has disappeared.

21 years ago, Beninese artist Cyprien Tokoudagba sculpted 64 statues that were placed in Ouidah and along the beach road leading to the Door of No Return Monument. Each sculpture tells a story, the future-telling Bokono sees a negative reading on the shells, unable to tell the king. An Amazonian warrior heads off to war. A snake eats its own tail. 64 statues, 64 stories.

My first glance was in passing. I was on my way out to the beach and I saw that one of the cement statues had been repainted. I found it to be novel, assuming that the village had chosen to fix it up. The next time, another had been painted. Every time I went to the beach, I noticed another painted statue. Little by little the entire lot of statues began to glow in the sun with bright and eye catching color.

I went to investigate.

I find two women working on a statue, carefully re-scuplting the parts that have been destroyed. Their names: Regina and Elise Tokoudagba, the daughters of the artist himself. Whereas Cyprien Tokoudaggba died earlier this year, his work remains. Repairing their father’s statues was clearly a healing experience for them. Having grown up in their father’s studio, I’m not sure anyone could do it better.

Regina is the talkative one. Elise is shy to speak. They both worry about their French, which makes me laugh. You're talking to an American. When I ask about their father, Elise speaks in Fon and her sister translates, “We said that Cyprien is dead, but the artist never dies. To see the work reminds her that her father still lives. He supports us”

I sense distress also; statues that they had just recently restored have already been vandalized. Children in passing scratch away at the paint and break the cement that is drying. Their father’s legacy is important to them, as it is to the Fondation Zinsou which has funded the restoration, and they continue on, day by day, fixing up the statues, including what has recently been damaged.

I hope that in the future those students and vandals will benefit from projects like CIAMO’s and the Zinsou’s. Both organizations strive to bring youth closer to art. If we continue to promote the understanding of art as heritage, I believe future generations will adore, not destroy their community art.

-John Mark Feilmeyer, Director - =Centre International d'Art et de Musique de Ouidah (CIAMO)

Below find some pictures, and a quick video of my visit with them: