This painting explores the notion of the living room as a halfway space between public and private, although not always intentionally. It depicts the living room of my first home in Bouake, my uncle sitting on the couch looking directly at the viewer through the large bay window that my mother used to love. The same window she came to hate as it became the worst feature of the house, exposing us and our private space directly to the violence, fear and turmoil of the outside world.
10 years later, armed man intruded in our living room, holding us at gunpoint and taking my father hostage. “Living room” is a representation of daily life interrupted by troubled moments and memories. It’s nostalgia and discomfort.
The military figures give off an eerie feeling, camouflaged in the background but clearly visible, they are a reminder of rampant insecurity.
Klervie Mouho