Beachcomber Magazine 02

InternationalFashionAlliance,who encouragedhimtocontributetoan exhibitioninKualaLumpurwiththe perfecttitleof“ArtificialBeauty”.Gaël swappedhisscissorsforapaintbrush. A CREOLE STATEMENT Andyettheartworldremainedtotally foreigntohimuntilhereturnedtoMauri- tius:“ the first real exhibition i attended was my own. ”Itwasin2013,atthe IMAAYAGallery,wherehis“Artvanda- lism”wassuchasuccessthatevery- thingwassoldbythedayofthepreview. “ Before that i went from door to door, trying to sell my work. it was almost like charity! ” Inthefollowingyears,hisgrotesque beautiestravelledtothegalleriesof prestigiousluxuryhotelsinMauritius aswellasBaliandLondon.TheUrban ArtFairexhibitedtheminParisnextto starslikeBanksy.AndEmiratesAirlines engagedhimasportraitartistinDubai wherehedeconstructedinglorious TechnicolortheBurjKhalifaandother enormousbuildings. Butourtender-heartedvandalabando- nedhisphotogenicoutburststosettle downonhisislandin2015with“Love isreal”,anexhibitionlikeanintensely personalpictorialdiarywhereheendea- vouredtofindthevaguesourcesofhis Africanorigins,onlytoendupasserting hisidentityasjustCreole,withthetraits andemotionsofanexuberantprimiti- vism.Inasimilarveinhetellsusabout theexhibition“LaCitéMécanique” (TheMechanicalCity)in2017,andthe talesandlegends,dreamedupwithhis friendRadjivDave,ofhumansandgods ofanimaginarytribe,the“Famis”.Ironic embodimentsoftheisland’sethnic diversity,whichhedepictsonpieces ofmetalsalvagedfromtheisland’s industrialpast.Themostgrotesqueof hiscreatures,nexttothedivinitieswith veryhumanfailings,is“KisMi, femme fatale par excellence ”ofdoubtful cleanlinesssymbolisedbyapairoffull lipsdistributingthekissoflife!AfterWarhol,PicassoandBacon,his influencethesedaysisSoulages,and hisblackstreakswhichheborrowed foraseriesofstencildrawings,“ noc- turnal faces that i would like to be more realistic, like missing person notices .” Evenwhentoneddown,hisvandalism comesthroughasevermoretelling. Left: André 11 in the series “Love is Real”, 2017. In my hand in the series “Mask”, 2015. Right: Gaël Froget working on the rabbit Bebet Karo , in recycled metal, which he exhibited with the rest of his “Fami tribe” at the Cité Mécanique, 2017. Gauche : André 11 , de la série « Love is Real », 2017. In my hand , de la série « Mask », 2015. Droite : Gaël froget au travail sur le lapin Bebet Karo , en métal recyclé, qu’il expose avec le reste de sa « fami tribe » à la Cité Mécanique, 2017.  PAINTING THE ART OF ART 82