TOGO IN QU@RANTINE

Togo in Qu@rantine
An Artist’s View on the Situation of Human Rights
in the Republic of Togo
Introduction:
Togo in Quarantine is an exhibit of committed art portraying the appalling status of human rights abuses in Togo since the assassination of the country’s Father of independence, Sylvanus Olympio, on January 13, 1963, and the arrests that followed the June’s presidential elections in 2003. The exhibit is the view of artist, Kouassi Kloussé, who in a visual survey, presents Togo’s human rights record during that 40-year period and its current isolation or quarantine by the international community.
Origin:
The exhibit is a project supported by the Togolese Diaspora for Democracy and Development, known by its French acronym Diastode: (www.diastode.org )
Objective:
The purpose of the exhibit is to offer a visual portrait of the ongoing cruel and harsh atrocities the Togolese people have had to endure for 40 years under the dictatorship of General Gnassingbé Eyadéma, Africa’s longest-ruling dictator.
The Exhibit:
The exhibit presents a collection of paintings in a style the artist calls “the art of uncertainty” or “Incertitudism”, with its roots in realism but, as he says, an art that lies “midstream between realism and abstraction.” Painting in either acrylics or oils, Kloussé takes his inspiration from the suffering and ravages personally witnessed in his native land or that others from the Diaspora have documented for him. In addition, the exhibit includes drawings, photographs and printed testimonials of the country’s long-standing human rights abuses
The exhibit opens in N.W, Washington DC at the “Vision Theater” 1927 Florida avenue with the support of the Amnesty International group 211 of Capitol Hill this 8th May 2004, and is planned to move on to other U.S and Canadian cities. Plans also are underway for the show to travel to Belgium, France and Germany, countries with large communities of Togolese exiles.
The Artist:
Pierre-Bernard Kouassi Kloussé was born in Togo in 1963. After completing advanced studies in design, he began his career as a building designer in Togo’s capital, Lomé, before fleeing to the United States in 2001. His work has been exhibited in numerous shows: the American Cultural Center in Lomé, the French Cultural Center in Cotonou, Republic of Benin and at the National Museum of Niger. He currently resides in Washington, DC.
Contacts:
For sponsoring or any question about the project, write to the Artist Kouassi Kloussé at: panaturefr@yahoo.fr /or phone ( USA) 301-495-5543
NOTA:
Exhibitions since 2004:
- 08 June 2004 in Washington D.C. at “Vision theater” with the help of the group211 of Amnesty International, Capitol-Hill
- from 16 to 17 July 2004 at the VI Convention of NACT (North American Convention for Togo)
- 12 – 14th November 2004 at the University of Maryland at the Regional Conference of Amnesty International- USA
- 24 mars 2005 American University (Wechsler Theater) with the
group 211 of Amnesty International of Capitol-Hill
- 11 to 12th June 2005 at the meeting of Togolese in USA :
« Etats- généraux de la Diaspora Togolaise aux Etats-Unis »
- 18 June 2005 at the University of Montreal (Canada), when invited by the CTC (Communauté Togolaise au Canada) during a Conference by Gilles labarthe, author of: « Le Togo, de l’esclavage au libéralisme mafieux ».