{"id":816917,"date":"2026-10-28T21:58:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T21:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/816917\/"},"modified":"2026-10-28T21:58:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T21:58:14","slug":"found-object-masks-by-romuald-hazoume-counter-sorrow-with-sympathy-colossal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/816917\/","title":{"rendered":"Found Object Masks by Romuald Hazoum\u00e8\u00a0Counter Sorrow with Sympathy \u2014 Colossal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tethered to the spiritual realm, blue<\/a> connotes a sense of serenity and healing in Yoruba culture. It\u2019s also the color of peace, and for Romuald Hazoum\u00e8<\/a>, it\u2019s an apt metaphor for considering the legacy of colonial violence, climate catastrophe, and the global crises transforming life today.<\/p>\n

In My Blue Period at October Gallery<\/a>, the artist meditates on the contemporary geo-political landscape through a series of masks made from plastic jugs and found objects, like feathers, netting, and hardened paintbrushes. The expressive sculptures are part of Hazoum\u00e9\u2019s series titled masques bidons, or fake masks, which utilizes the functional structures of the vessels\u2014circular openings for mouths, handles for noses\u2014to form abstracted figures.<\/p>\n

\"an<\/a>\u201cKongo\u201d (2024-25), found objects, 40 x 40 x 15 centimeters. Photo by Romuald Hazoum\u00e8<\/p>\n

The title of the exhibition references Pablo Picasso\u2019s blue period, which emerged from his depression following the death of a friend, and preceded the Spanish artist\u2019s African period in which he appropriated masking traditions from across the continent. Like Picasso, Hazoum\u00e9 assembles found objects into minimal forms. \u201cMy intention is always to create works where no single element is ever overtaken by another,\u201d he says. \u201cFor me, it\u2019s crucial that you never lose sight of the container (bidon) yet still believe in the illusion. The bidon\u2019s presence taunts you, making you conscious that it\u2019s you projecting that \u2018face\u2019 you \u2018see\u2019 onto those plastic materials.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike the Spanish artist, though, Hazoum\u00e9 isn\u2019t concerned with his personal experience but rather ecological destruction, genocide, and armed conflicts threatening life on Earth. While earlier works in the series depicted men and large-scale issues of migration and collapse, the newer additions center on women and particular tragedies. From \u201cthe mother in Gaza killed by a sniper while seeking bread for her children\u201d to \u201cthe grief-stricken Russian widow, who poisoned herself after both her sons died,\u201d the stories referenced in sculpture are a way to bear witness. Hazoum\u00e9 writes: <\/p>\n

This work I do affects me deeply. I\u2019m not making masks for other people, I\u2019m making them for myself, trying to translate what I feel into something concrete, which stands apart from me, but reflects my innermost feelings. While making them, I gathered ordinary names from tragic tales reported in the news coming from all corners of the globe. The story is on an endless loop; women as \u2018second rate beings\u2019, continually abused and ground down by the cruelty of men.<\/p>\n

While evoking the Hazoum\u00e9 considers blue to be a counter to the \u201cred lines\u201d continually invoked in war and the crimson color of blood. \u201cI imagined a balancing \u2018blue line\u2019 to stress the need to reduce global suffering and restore some hope of positive progress,\u201d the artist says. \u201cWe need this blue middle ground to regain sympathy for each other, to help make life worth living again.\u201d<\/p>\n

My Blue Period runs through November 21 in London.<\/p>\n

\"an<\/a>\u201cShoshi\u201d (2026), found objects, 48 x 31 x 22 centimeters. Photo by Romuald Hazoum\u00e8<\/p>\n

\"an<\/a>\u201cSoulag\u00e9e\u201d (2025), found objects, 33 x 20 x 24 centimeters. Photo by Romuald Hazoum\u00e8<\/p>\n

\"an<\/a>\u201cCh\u00eannai\u201d (2024-25), found objects, 58 x 30 x 22 centimeters. Photo by Romuald Hazoum\u00e8<\/p>\n

\"an<\/a>\u201cThal\u201d (2024-25), found objects, 38 x 44 x 18 centimeters. Photo by Romuald Hazoum\u00e8<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Installation view of \u2018Romuald Hazoum\u00e8: My Blue Period\u2019 at October Gallery (2026). Photo \u00a9 Jonathan Greet<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Installation view of \u2018Romuald Hazoum\u00e8: My Blue Period\u2019 at October Gallery (2026). Photo \u00a9 Jonathan Greet<\/p>\n

\"an<\/a>Installation view of \u2018Romuald Hazoum\u00e8: My Blue Period\u2019 at October Gallery (2026). Photo \u00a9 Jonathan Greet<\/p>\n

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