Fascinated by the rich history of hairstyling in West Africa, Marius Dansou was inspired by the famous photographs of J. D. Okhai Ojeikere.
Marius Dansou was born in 1984 in Cotonou (Benin), where he lives and works.
Marius Dansou sculpts fanciful hairstyles from concrete iron. This rigid and dense material, used for building foundations, becomes as supple as a hair in the artist's hands. Lulled by the Ayônounda (braids in Fongbé language), the twisted aspect of the concrete iron reminds him of the braids of the women around him. Impressed by the agility of the braiders, he appropriates their movements and techniques to imagine new hairstyles.
His sculptures are fueled by multiple inspirations, including a rich history of hairstyling in West Africa, and the famous photographs of J. D. Okhai Ojeikere. To these traditional techniques, he adds a keen observation of the street and hair salons, fashion trends and the appropriation of the shapes of everyday objects. For example, one can recognize in her sculptures the shape of klui-klui, the twisted peanut cakes produced from Benin to Nigeria.
Various inventive hairstyles, with curved and straight lines, born from Dansou's hands stand in the space; one can easily imagine them sculpted in a real hair.