Marcellin Minkoe-Minze

Gabon

At the invitation of the Chinese Government and the Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Center, I was given the chance to visit China in October 2014. This trip enabled me and other African artists to discover and share cultural and artistic values and elements which are sadly unknown in Gabon.

During my visit, I met wonderful and talented artists who knew how to keep track of time through their works in Chinese ink painting, while always expressing their creative genius. We organized a joint exhibition of our creations, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that art is the only language through which different peoples can communicate with shapes, colors and gestures, and find common sensitivity, whatever their cultures and the remoteness of their continents.

China, through this great initiative, has opened the door of "giving and receiving" to the African continent. My eyes saw so many things and my brain was inspired by all those wonders that even time could not erase, especially the old trees in the parks, the thousand-year-old sites and monuments, the tree roots sculpted by time, this diverse and rich cuisine and, first and foremost, these men and women smiling and seemingly silent, but very curious and talkative at the bottom of their hearts.