Born in 1974 in Niamey, Niger. He works and lives in Marquefave, France
As a visual artist, Yo-Yo Gonthier interrogates the deletion of memory in an occidental society where speed, technology and progress seem to have become essential values.
Imprinted by a fantastic poetry, his series take place within human geographies linked to history and environment : Les lanternes sourdes (The deaf lanterns), 2004 ; Pieds de bois (Wooden feet), Ile de la Réunion, 2000-2005 or Outre-Mer, mémoires coloniales (Overseas, colonial memories), 2003-2008.
Since 2011, he builds collective artistic and participative projects, as Le Nuage qui parlait (The cloud which spoke), Ile de la Réunion, 2013 ; Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, 2015 ; Abidjan, 2016 ; Dakar, 2016 ; Niamey, 2016. The collaborative project La Cour, started with François-Xavier Gbré during the Bamako Biennial of African photography in 2017 and presented at Paris Photo in 2018, knows today a new stage in France within the scope of a residency at the Atelier Médicis at Clichy-Montfermeil from August 2019.
His work is notably part of the FRAC Collections of the Reunion Island, of the National Library of France, of the National Museum of Marine in France, of the Department Council of Seine-Saint-Denis and of the CNEAI (the National Center of etching and printed art) in Chatou, France.
Selected exhibitions: L'Esprit du large, Galerie Cécile Fakhoury (Dakar et Abidjan, 2019), Ghost Park - les Vivants #1, La Chapelle Saint-Jacques, contemporary art center (France, 2019), La Cour (Paris Photo, 2018), Bamako Biennial of African photography (2015, 2017), Dakar Biennial (2016), Galerie Cécile Fakhoury (Abidjan, 2015), Addis Foto Fest (Addis Ababa, 2013), Kréyol Factory (Paris, 2009), Espace Khiasma (Les Lilas, 2008)
Image: Une ambivalence, 2003