A visual artist born in Bafoussam (Cameroon) in 1994, Jourdan Tchoffo Kuete is part of the rising generation of African artists concerned with black portraiture and social realism. His unique group portraits convey a sense of nostalgia that lies at the core of his artistic message, namely the praise of endangered family values, and the focus on education as the heart of a better society.

Tchoffo begins drawing comics in elementary school, a practice he continues into his two years of biochemistry at the University of Douala, until 2015, when he enters the Visual Arts section of the Institute of Fine Arts of Foumban. The Hangson Masterclasses soon give him the opportunity to participate in group shows and a residency at the In and Off Center, which leads to his first solo exhibition in 2021.

Jourdan Tchoffo Kuete is gracefully blending the legacy of modern African black and white photography championed by pioneers like Seydou Keïta, Malick Didibé, Jean Depara, Philippe Koudjina and James Barnor, with meticulously colorized interiors that are inspired by Classic Americana and African Colonial Architecture, thus conveying a sense of soft-powered propaganda aesthetics aiming to contrast his direct artistic engagement with the notions of family nucleus, parental responsibility, home education, and social inclusion.

The artist’s hybrid creative process draws power from pop-art, and at times echoes the great 1970’s Chinese cycle by Icelandic painter Errö; but it could equally enter a contemporary dialogue with the composite creations of Nigerian star Nijdeka Akuyili Crosby, or the interior scenes by Ugandan artist Ian Mwesiga.