Armand Boua is an Ivorian artist, born in Abidjan in 1978, in Ivory Coast. He is a graduate of the National School of Fine Arts of Côte d’Ivoire, the Technical Center for Applied Arts. He lives and works in Abidjan.
The case of the human condition is the inspiration behind Armand Boua’s work. His favorite subjects are the conditions of street children in the African urban cities . His work is inspired by urban scenes and has become, in fact, a denunciation and a commitment to fight against poverty.
His paintings depict violence and the political struggles in West Africa. It is in Abidjan, economic capital at the crossroads of urbanization and industrialization, that the sensitivity of the artist has been sharpened.
Armand Boua’s artwork is characterized by the use of materials such as tar, acrylic,newsprint and magazines mixed with recycled materials. Each layer is applied then torn off, stripped, letting appear abstract forms. The different stages of-the artwork , like the street, are deconstructed.
The recurrent use of cardboard, as support and canvas, is very symbolic of this artist: it is a constant reminder of the precarious support which the street children use to sleep.
All the originality of his work thus lies in the delicate balance between the violence of his execution and the delicate treatment of his subjects.
The composition and tight framing of Armand Boua’s paintings give them a photographic dimension.
Le Bracoman
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