Embark on a journey through the captivating world of Ivorian visual artist Nuits Balnéaires as we delve into the intricacies of his artistic vision, merging fashion photography with environmental activism. From his acclaimed series “Renaissance” to upcoming projects, Nuits Balnéaires invites us to explore the intersection of culture, nature, and spirituality through his lens.
I am an ivorian visual artist based in Grand-Bassam. My practice is articulated between photography and film. After completing my studies in
Business Management, I’ve decided to devote myself to fashion photography and collaborate with some of the major brands locally and internationally . In 2019, I settled in Grand-Bassam to develop my art and the same year, my documentation of the floods in Grand-Bassam earned me a one-year visual journalism fellowship with the World Press Photo Foundation. In 2020, I was one of the winners with my creative partner Bayo Hassan Bello, of the Cultural and Environmental responses for environmental change initiated by the Prince Claus Fund and the Goethe Institute.
Your work is very emotive and has great depth beyond a solid image. The series “Renaissance” that was shown at the Magic Bassam exhibition merged your two passions which are; the energy you experience and harness from the coast and environmental impacts from human activities. Can you take us through the creative process behind the project?
Renaissance was inspired by the costumes created by my friend, the costume designer Ellen Elias. While traveling across the globe she creates pieces that reflect the place she goes, using fabrics and techniques locally used to melt her multicultural influences. We started to develop the project in 2020 when she first visited Côte d’Ivoire and further in 2021. This work was very much about putting in dialogue our differences and convergences. It is about elevating multiculturalism at its spiritual core. By photographing this series in the meditative environment surrounding Grand-Bassam, we celebrate the natural elements that play a key role in both our practices. The “Renaissance” series is a delicate merge of artistry and making a “political statement”
How did the audience engage with the conversation raised by your work ?
As the Magic Bassam show was happening, it was interesting for the audience to discuss works responding to factual issues we can all observe around Grand-Bassam, our first colonial capital. It is an important conversation to have and this exhibition definitely provided the space for it to happen.
How do you manage to control the message from overpowering an image?
A research of precision about the story I want to tell. Then the composition, color tone and visual storytelling is very important and allows the image to fully exist and express itself.
Looking at the whole body of work from the Renaissance series, you have built a beautiful story with a start, middle and finish which is very distinct. Such as moving from seeing the effects of the waste on the coast, to an appreciation of nature and I suppose your spiritual connection to ocean. Would you like to take us through it?
I wanted to put in dialogue Renaissance and Redemption because it is very heartbreaking while living here to observe this marvelous nature being destroy by all the waste arriving day after day on this shore. Redemption is such a healing process from this pain that I meet everyday on this beach. I try with this work to articulate the empathy I have towards the surrounding nature of Grand-Bassam. Putting it in dialogue with Renaissance was a way to show the ambivalence of the surrounding nature here.
Which photo from the series do you believe truly captured your message?
Every piece embodies a fragment of the message and the entire message, both at the same time.
Are you currently working any new projects we must look out for?
An upcoming exhibition revealing an extended version of my new series The Power of Alliances developed during my fellowship with The World
Press Photo Foundation.
