Côte d'Ivoire's Yapaud: Sustainability meets tradition in his award-winning art

Patrick Yapaud stood on a Paris stage on October 11, holding a silver medal that recognised something he has spent years perfecting: recycling waste into art.

The Ivorian visual artist received the honour from the Haute Société Académique Arts-Sciences-Lettres de Paris, joining a list of past recipients that includes Nobel laureate Marie Curie and oceanographer-author Jacques-Yves Cousteau.

"The silver medal awarded to me is a prestigious recognition of my talent, my commitment, and my significant contribution to the field of visual arts," Yapaud, a native of Grand-Akoudzin in Côte d'Ivoire's Adzopé department, tells TRT Afrika.  

Founded in 1915, the academic society has historically honoured distinguished figures across arts, sciences, and letters. Its annual ceremony brings together medal recipients from around the world.

Sustainable creative practice

Yapaud teaches colour and textile techniques at the Technical Centre of Applied Arts in Bingerville, but his real work happens with the materials others discard.

Wood shavings, paper strips and random objects that may have outlived their utility – these constitute his palette.

"Generally speaking, my work questions sustainable development by proposing recovery and recycling as appropriate solutions to the imminent problems of waste that invade our environment every day," he explains.

His approach draws from Vohou-vohou, a movement that reshaped Ivorian art.

Conceptualised in the 1970s at Abidjan's École des Beaux-Arts, Vohou-vohou – it means "anything" in Gouro – emerged when students couldn't afford imported materials and turned to what they could find. They used beaten wood bark, cowrie shells, sand, and feathers, rejecting colonial artistic conventions in favour of something distinctly Ivorian.

Material transformation

Yapaud's "Expression papier" technique involves braiding and weaving paper strips to create colour mosaics.

A recent work of his – Façade de la cite – pushes the envelope with wood shavings. The 70 by 97 cm painting transforms these offcuts into intricate compositions.

Tourbillon, larger at 103.5 by 95 cm, captures movement through a collage of shavings that most would otherwise sweep into bins.

Both works function as beautiful objects and raise pointed questions about how we handle waste. The materials themselves – otherwise meant to be discarded and forgotten – gain new life and meaning in Yapaud's hands.

Art beyond borders

The Paris recognition matters to Yapaud beyond the prestige. "This medal proves that despite distance and sometimes apparent differences, art knows no boundaries," he says.

His sentiment is based on the founding principles of the Vohou-vohou movement, whose objective was to reconcile diverse traditions while maintaining an Ivorian voice.

The movement never rejected Western influence entirely, instead pursuing something genuinely new from the synthesis.

Yapaud's interpretation of the tradition coincides with global conversations on the importance of environmental themes in art.

This is also reflected in Abidjan's expanding art scene, with new galleries and institutional support transforming the city into a regional cultural hub.

Artists addressing ecological concerns through innovative materials are now the most sought-after.