Umoja

Brown-Kossi’s artistic practice includes researching the histories of the symbols that continue to influence and appear in our daily lives. Those employed in these works can be found on rock art from the prehistoric period. Some are universal like the spiral, others are cultural and can be found today among branding. Many have roots in African languages that pre-date Latin, and their influence can be found globally. For centuries symbols have been a way to act on the conscience, to organize, to communicate and to evoke the spiritual. These works mean to play with their polysemous nature, in the hope that you will reflect on the meanings you see.

Born in France of parents from the Ivory Coast and now living in Canada for over 6 years, he is in the process of getting his Canadian citizenship; a journey that has him questioning his identity, immigration and territories but also the different cultures that cross him. As he describes it, the human being tends to want to dissociate, to separate colours, origins, religions, etc. In this new series, he means to show that one can be different while being part of an interconnected whole. His three cultures are now part of him and he represents them with different shapes and colours; the number 3 also resonated with the artist as it symbolically represents balance, self-expression and free thinking.