Ousmane Sow honored in Paris

The "procession of the damned of the earth", composed of 75 giant sculptures had received a triumphal welcome when the artist had made the presentation in Paris in 1999. The visitors, fascinated by these men who told the story of the Africa in their different postures, jostled each other for three months to admire them.

Twenty years later, and three years after the death of the sculptor (he died in 2016 at the age of 81), the city hall of the city of Paris paid tribute to him during the World Day of La Francophonie (March 20). inaugurating his "couple of wrestlers" instead of Valois, in the 1st district of Paris.

With this bronze sculpture, from the series Noubas, people of South Sudan, he puts Africa in the heart of Europe, said Christophe Girard, deputy mayor of Paris for Culture: " This is to allow this artist majestic to be present in Paris, a few months of the European elections, where we can see that our values ​​are flickering. Africa is the largest French-speaking continent. All his artists have their place in Paris and they really are, really, our cousins. "

The "wrestling couple", sculpture by Ousmane Sow

After the opening of the house of Ousmane Sow in Dakar where we can admire a large part of the artist's works, this inauguration in Paris shows the immortal character of one who knew how to transport us to another world with its wonders .