Artist-painter since always, Jean-Denis Temblaire had rather devoted himself, in recent years, to decorative arts (screens, carpets ...). Before discovering Ouidah at the beginning of the 2016s which will deeply impress him with its magical landscapes. But also by the indelible traces of the atrocious treatments, which only the human being is capable of inflicting on his fellow man. Hence his inspiration to paint a series of paintings on the theme of the "slave trade". Explanation.
The Exhibition of Innovation of Handicraft and Tourism Products (SIPAT-Ouidah) officially opened its doors on November 29, 2022 at the French Fort of Ouidah. Under the effective presidency of the 2nd deputy Mayor of Ouidah, Mrs. Sabine Fourn, the President of the Chamber of Crafts and Trades and the representative of the Minister of Culture, Crafts and Tourism.
The initiative of this show belongs to Mr. Yvon Dédégbé, versatile artist and president of Prodata, a structure aimed at accompanying, valuing and promoting artisans and artisanal products in Ouidah, Benin and Africa.
This first edition of the show will give the opportunity to artisans to exhibit their know-how. Through an exhibition on the esplanade and the garden of the French Fort of Ouidah from November 29 to December 4, 2022. Exhibition whose paintings by the French artist-painter Jean-Denis Temblaire constitute the obligatory passage and force admiration.
In the opinion of specialists, some paintings produced by the French artist-painter are very figurative; while others, much more stylized, mix the beauty of nature and human suffering. By proceeding in this way, the artist seeks to translate "the oh-so-painful message of an earthly paradise from which you are expelled forever, by the most extreme violence". Another subject of interest that appears in the exhibited works is the daily life of the people of Ouidah; their daily struggle for the development of their city and a better world.
By Serge Babylas de SOUZA
babylas25@yahoo.fr
