What was the art market like back then in Douala?
I started out exhibiting at the French Cultural Centre and in hotels. Cameroon still doesn’t have a very established market. Who was influencing you at the time, artistically and intellectually? You must remember that when I was starting out it was still the beginning of democracy in our country. [In December 1990, Cameroon reintroduced multi-party politics.] Some names that come to mind include the writer Mongo Beti and Achille Mbembe – I used to listen to his radio broadcasts. It was also the early days of Simon Njami and Revue Noire. When did you first meet Simon Njami? Around 1993, he was in Cameroon for a special issue of Revue Noire. I met him on a workshop with other artists. We are now good friends. [Laughs] We have very deep exchanges. Simon played a very important part in my attitude towards African contemporary art. When I met him I was still searching for my artistic identity. I used to incorporate a lot of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs into my work, things that spoke about
