Patrick-Joël Tacheda Yonkeu creates work that explores notion of human collectiveness, examining what it means to be human today and to interact with others in order to rediscover a collective moral consciousness that is fair, just and better suited to our times. Patrick-Joël’s work reconsiders the origins of human civilization and to rethink history and development in hopes of avoiding an endless repetition of our same mistakes. In his own words, “Perhaps, it is just a matter of rhythm, rhythm of the earth, of transmutation, or the transcendence of the “I” for the embracing of the “we” in its essence.” Patrick-Joël addresses the history of mankind to shed light on the ways humans put themselves in relation to others, and how it gives rise to conflicts and power structures. Patrick-Joël also explores the ‘human versus nature’ relationship and its different manifestations throughout culture and religion. African Animism, as Asian Buddhism, places man in an equal relationship with his surroundings by considering everything a soulful being full of energy and life. On the contrary, Western civilization puts man at the center of the universe.
For Patrick-Joël, a man is thus no different from a plant, and he has the same value as a rock, wind, air, sun or fire. His use of the ephemeral material that is paper, as well as the incredibly long drying process of the natural pigments and oils that he applies on it, reveal all together this kind of interaction; it is an earthy technique that imposes patience and waits just as nature does. Even more so, his process narrates a ritual, one ever-mindful of African traditions. To make these works, Patrick-Joël lets go of his consciousness, losing himself within his gestures and his media. Over the canvas, one’s eyes are filled with encounters, crashes and collisions made of ancestral colors in constant movement. In them, we glimpse the artist’s physical gestures contrast the fact that these works took a very long time to rest and become. Hence, they are simultaneously explosive and contemplative.
Patrick-Joël’s preferred medium is paper; to Patrick-Joël, each piece of paper is intertwined with its history of being the primary means for sending messages and for sharing news and preserving it over time, to make the future generations aware of their past. He uses papyrus, natural pigments and oil in memory of African traditions, as a way of reinforcing his bond with the traditions of his homeland and his ancestors. When he is executing his paintings, he is more focused on the ritual he is performing than about the product of his artmaking itself. For Patrick-Joël, the visual result is a spatial-temporal record of a ritual, the residue of a ritual that materializes through a material and physical support, namely paper. While painting and sculpture are his preferred mediums, Patrick-Joël also expresses himself through installations and performances. For Patrick-Joël, painting exists wherever space allows for the staging of forms in motion, leading to infinite harmonies suggested by the poetic dialogue between the painter's palette and his mind.
Patrick-Joël Tacheda Yonkeu was born in 1985 in Douala, Cameroon. After studying science at St Jean Baptiste College in Bangangté, and a brief stint at the University of Dschang, where he further studied mathematics and computer science, Patrick-Joël attended the University of Yaoundé to study Fine Arts, deciding to dedicate himself to the arts. After graduating, he moved to Italy, where he studied painting and later earned a scholarship to attend the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna. He obtained a BFA in painting in 2013 and received an MFA in 2016 in Visual Arts and completed a research project on Zen in art. After his studies, Patrick-Joël settled in Bologna. There, he continued his path through numerous collaborations between Africa and Italy and by establishing intercultural painting workshops with schools and associations in the Emilia-Romagna region, leaning into his rigorous and diverse research background. Recently, he participated in the exhibition "I IS ANOTHER BE THE OTHER" by Simon Njami at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Rome, Italy, and the 2018 Dakar Biennale, which was highlighted by the New York Times, along with Patrick-Joël‘s work. He also took part in Manifesta 12 as part of the "Collateral project Art and Globalization," curated by the Danish curator Rikke Jorgensen, along with associate curators Valentina G. Levy and Nadine Bilong. Patrick-Joël lives and works in Bologna, Italy.