Wild Hopes

In the Transit performance series started in 1996, Barthélémy Toguo reflects on places of transit emphasizing relationships between the individual, administration, immigrant and local. His intimidating approach confronts conventional security rules, playing with the appearance. Humorous and agitator, he frankly exposes political issues such as in his performance Pure and Clean, where he hand washes two US flags so as to clean up its dreadful actions abroad. In The New World Climax wooden sculpture series he develops the merchandise and human flows through the use of large scale stamps. In the 1990’s he made watercolour series such as Baptism, paying tribute to the human body. His interests  in performing arts led him to create theatrical installations in the 2000 Lyon biennial (Unfinished Theater) and at the Palais de Tokyo (Paris), in 2004 (The Sick Opera).