Artist: Ndayé Kouagou

Gathering presents a solo exhibition of new work by Ndayé Kouagou (b. 1992 in Paris, France).

Evolving from self-authored texts which are then expanded upon through performance, film, textiles, sculpture and installation, Kouagou manipulates the language of aphorism espoused by online influencers and self-help gurus.

This exhibition, the artist’s first solo presentation with Gathering, extends across the gallery’s two floors and comprises two immersive video installations. On the ground floor, Kouagou exhibits A to Z, an existing video work which premiered at Palais de Tokyo in 2023. The basement is dedicated to Here and Elsewhere, a newly-produced video installation that conceptually continues The Guru, a video-performance commissioned by Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris in 2023.

Here & Elsewhere plays with fixed ideas of medium and format, using realistically scaled characters to mimic a human presence and transform video into performance. Based on an imaginary theatre play by the artists, Here and Elsewhere sees the central character, referred to by Kouagou as the Narrator, address the audience directly, initiating conversation on an undisclosed topic.

Playing with the universalism of this never named topic, Kouagou explores the strengths and limits of contemporary communication – particularly the ways in which language is used and twisted to market, sell, obfuscate, connect and inform.

Using screens, plexiglass, resin and aluminium, Kouagou presents the viewer with elliptical statements and open-ended, existentially leading questions, simulating the meandering dialogue that dominates platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Surface and depth, humour and sincerity, clarity and confusion are granted equivalent significance in Kouagou’s work as he playfully explores the forms and effects of mediated communication.