Since 2024, my collective Studio 75 and I have decided to make walls speak. Not in an air conditioned gallery, not behind a protective glass but here, in the street, in the heart of the great secondhand clothing market of Cotonou, where life pulses at every hour of the day.
We chose this wall because it belongs to the people. And what could be more right than placing art where people live, work, cross paths and look at each other every single day?
The murals tell several stories at once. A warrior woman with piercing green eyes grips a thick rope with both hands, she pulls and refuses to let go this is the image of the African woman who fights every day for her dignity and her place in the world.
Right beside her, an African queen adorned with golden jewels and dressed in traditional geometric patterns looks at us with absolute serenity, a hummingbird at her side like a promise of renewal.
Explosive turquoise lettering and mosaics of vivid colors pink, red, yellow, green, blue dress the walls with new energy, turning this ordinary neighborhood into an open air museum.
When I passed by these walls recently, I saw something that deeply moved me. The secondhand clothing vendors had set up their stalls all along the wall, using our art as the natural backdrop of their daily trade. The murals had become part of the identity of the market. Passersby stop, look and smile. Children point. Neighbors are proud.
This is exactly why Studio 75 exists. Art is not a luxury reserved for a few. Art is a universal language that belongs to the street, to the market, to the city, to everyone.
