Nine Artists Not to Miss at 1-54 London

Hervé Yamguen

The sculptures of Cameroonian artist Hervé Yamguen embody metamorphosis. First, by transforming material, bending bronze into unique three-dimensional creations, and second, by exploring the realm of human and non-human forms in his works. Several sculptures from his series “Nous sommes nature” (“We are nature”) are whimsical and strange at the same time. In one, a small framed body, presumably of a boy, rests on the ground. From it grows and emerges bird-like animals, figureheads and plants. Another spiral-shaped sculpture emulates a Tower of Babel with vines coiling all around. Here also, mask-like heads poke through, suggesting the presence of spirits and the intertwined nature of being.