“Chamayou’s work is a balance between being torn and kissed in an insane dogfight – a synergistic collision of energy, where Africa is present in its colours, depth and eruptive beauty.”
Cyrille Chamayou was born in 1970 in France, growing up in a family of builders and architects. His studies in communication, graphic art and photography led him to live in Paris and Montréal, and his corporate career soon presented the opportunity of relocating to Africa, where he lived in Lagos and Dakar before making a home in Johannesburg.
Soon after arriving in South Africa, Chamayou began studying painting, finding a personal style and method of work that he terms Punch Painting – he embarks on a new piece of work with the mindset of a fighter entering the ring – a creative space where nothing exists but physical urgency and commitment.
Using vibrant palettes that echo the energy and effervescence of Africa, Chamayou’s paintings often move into the realm of the discomfiting – he portrays disturbing creatures: mutants, toothless faces, faces that are nothing but teeth, oppressive, ambiguous figures, and shady couples. This mix of subject matter is a crossroads of angst, intrigue and love. The characters that confront the viewer in these works all have questions to ask and experiences to reveal, becoming a counterpoint to a culture where intense emotional reactions are most often suppressed or concealed – instead, Chamayou’s pieces return his audience to the visceral world we all embody, where we collectively “meander, fight, argue, tear each other apart, and kiss each other better”.
