PASCALE MARTHINE TAYOU::::
born in 1967, Yaoundé, Cameroon
lives and works in Douala, Cameroon, and Brussels

Tayou’s work, often site-specific, stems from his personal, everyday experiences of the exploitation of recycled material and images. They connect the continual circulation of individuals and objects in the world, with chance playing a fundamental role. They are humorous, ironic, and critical exposures of the postcolonial
reality.

In Afro, Tayou works to make the word afro a label of representation by proposing the creation of a new unified monetary unit for all of Africa, ironically referencing the euro. The afro becomes a monetary unit like the european euro or American dollar, both ironic and symbolic of a unified Africa. For the project Afro, there is the creation of an African square, the afro currency, a chart of the Afro community, and a publicity chart—the “merchandizing” of the afro. He creates Afro as a sign of the utopian unification of Africa, a continent continuously suffering from post- and neocolonial exploitation, division, and conflicts. the Afro propaganda posters represent the full range of information to help people to prepare for the coming of the African Union (AU): a consideration of regional differences such as the values, cultures, and languages of each member state produced as merchandise such as pens, ties, posters, brochures, videos, t-shirts, condoms, and caps printed with the symbol of the afro currency.

For Afrodisiaque, Aphrodiziak, Afrodisiac, Tayou has created a place of user-friendliness. visitors are invited to bring their own picnic to share with others and to settle in on armchairs, seats, and stools which come from Cameroon, sitting and conferencing under a sky of the flags of Africa. the African square of Afrodisiaque, Aphrodiziak, Afrodisiac is an installation that acts as a changing environment for the conceptual and virtual project of the ambitions of a new African unity.

http://www.pascalemarthinetayou.com