COTONOU, Benin — On a blue and yellow background, the graffiti
artist retouches a spray-painted image of the half-man, half-shark statue of
King Behanzin, one of the stolen treasures returned to Benin by
France late last
year.
اضافة اعلان
The image is
just one by 26 local and international
graffiti artists who have created a
mural depicting Benin’s history and culture stretching more than one kilometer
along a wall in Benin’s main city of Cotonou.
Their objective
is to eventually create the largest mural fresco in the world as part of a
festival under the theme of “New Benin”.
Beninese artist Romario Agbo-Koffi, also known as Dr Mario, poses for a portrait while holding a spray can at the Effet Graff festival, whose objective is to achieve one of the longest murals in the world, in Cotonou on May 18, 2022.
“To create the
Benin of the future, we must keep the Benin of the past in our sight,” said
Laurenson Djihouessi, known by his artist name Mr Stone, who is the festival
promoter.
Many of the
graffiti artists have chosen to represent the restored treasures, which were
stolen by French colonial forces and returned to
Cotonou this year after
negotiations with Paris.
The artifacts
have been on display for the first time in Benin since February in a historical
exhibition at the presidential palace, located a few hundred meters from the
mural.
“There, the
audience comes to the art, but here the art comes to the audience,” said Stone,
whose images pay homage to the Amazons, the elite, all-female soldiers of the
Kingdom of Dahomey, one of Benin’s kingdoms before French colonization.
The artist said
he wanted to place the Beninese woman “at the heart of action and development”,
for them to be the “Amazon of modern times”.
But it is not
only the royal history of Benin’s past that is painted on the fresco that
attracts dozens of passers-by.
Supported by the
Claudine Talon Foundation, run by the First Lady of Benin, and the Ministry of
Culture, the wall also highlights recent achievements in the
West African
country.
There are cranes
symbolizing the reform of Cotonou’s port and agricultural machinery, a
reference to the modernization of the agricultural sector.
Images of roads
are meant to show part of the infrastructure projects touted by President
Patrice Talon as one of his successes.
Since his first
election in 2015, Talon has launched dozens of projects in what he calls a
campaign to set his nation on the path to development.
While the
economy may have been modernized, Benin’s opposition says the country’s
democracy has also suffered under Talon’s rule.
On her part of
the wall, female artist Drusille Fagnibo also painted the building of
Economic Crimes and Terrorism Court, known as Criet.
Critics say the
special court, set up in 2016 in a bid to end to impunity in the political
class, is used as a political weapon by the government to target opponents.
In December, the
court sentenced opposition leader Reckya Madougou to 20 years in prison for
terrorism, a term which her lawyers described as a political attack.
The government
denies any claims the court is manipulated for political purposes.
More than 700 meters of
wall have been decorated since April 11, and the organizers want to expand it
to 1,300 meters during early 2023. They hope to beat the record for the longest
graffiti fresco in the world.
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