Serge Mouangue is a Cameroonian born designer and artist, based in Paris, France. He has worked in various design fields and is known for his series of Japanese/Cameroonian art pieces, from which he has gained notoriety in the art world. His art style is based upon ideas of shared belonging, identity, and the similarities between cultures.
Early life and education
Mouangue was born in Yaoundé, Cameroon. When Mouangue was young, his parents moved their family to Paris. The family moved into a disadvantaged Parisian suburb, inhabited mostly by immigrants. Mouangue's father wanted him to become a judge or engineer, but eventually accepted Mouangue's choice to develop his creative talent. Mouangue later attended schools for interior and industrial design. As part of his course at the ENSCI in Paris, he travelled to Australia on a placement year. There he met and worked with Nobel Prize winning architect Glen Murcutt. Whilst in Australia, he also met his wife, and had his first child. He later travelled to China to work on footwear design.
Career
Following his schooling, whilst in Australia, Mouangue was approached by Renault and asked to join their team as a designer. He returned to France to work with the company. Mouangue was later sent to work in Japan, as part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. He worked as part of the Creative Box Inc. a think tank run by Nissan. Whilst working in Japan, Mouangue worked on concept cars such as the 'Kwid' concept car, a car tailored to the clientele of India. Mouangue worked in Japan for five years, but has since stopped working for Renault and now operates as a small business start-up and design correspondent, currently working closely with sustainable materials developer "WooDoo".
Mouangue has continuously drawn and designed in his own time, alongside his career. In Japan, he chose to embark on a side-project aimed at portraying his cultural experiences as a Cameroonian in Japan. His first major artistic project was a series of kimono, developed with a couple traditional kimono makers, first Tokyo based kimono designer Kururi, and then Kyoto-based kimono and fabric designer and producer Odasho, in 2007. His creative platform "Wafrica", was developed as a way to keep creative ownership of his work. Later art pieces such as "Blood Brothers" gained critical acclaim and were exhibited on an international level. Mouangue became a fellow of TED in 2011. Subsequent works include a range of scents, live performances, and collaborative installations with Toyota.
In November 2020, Mouangue participated in a Chatham House, UK-Africa investment summit, to discuss methods of sustainable investment and international cooperation.
Artistry
Mouangue has developed a term called the 'third aesthetic', which he describes as an in-between, collaborative space that is created when two cultures interact. The ideology derives from Mouangue's first experiences in Japan. He noticed that features of Japanese and Cameroonian culture such as animism, spirituality, and codification of symbols, were shared, and although there were also large differences, there were enough similarities to make Mouangue question ideas of identity and cultural belonging. The term 'third aesthetic' illustrates the main goal and ideological structure of his work. Mouangue dislikes attachment to rigid identities, and through his art, seeks to demonstrate a universal sense of belonging.
'Wafrica' is composed of the term , and the word Africa. The term for Mouangue captures both his Cameroonian, Africa heritage, and his experience in Japan.
Kimono
Mouangue developed a set of kimono first in collaboration with Japanese kimono maker Kururi, and later with kimono maker Odasho. They were sourced from West African fabrics, made in the Netherlands, alongside classic Japanese features of kimono design. The garments focus on the mixing of two vivid cultures and aim to make the viewer question the rules of identity, opening them up to the idea of a global culture.